Trials to Becoming a Master
by Spirit Reader
Summary: In the Pokémon World, one must go through many trials if they wish to be a Master. Whether it be Battles or Contests, they must all overcome those trials if they truly wish to become the very best. This is a story about a group of young individuals who goes through these trials and they quickly learn that becoming a Master is easier said than done.
1. Chapter 1

Trials to Becoming a Master

Fanfiction by- Spirit Reader

Pokémon original creator- Satoshi Tajiri

**Chapter 1: **_The First Trial_

* * *

_Do you honestly think that you have the power to defeat me?! My power far surpasses yours!_

_I don't care how strong you think you are! If I can't defeat you here then everyone in the world is going to suffer. I won't allow that to happen! Charizard, use Flamethrower!_

_Foolish boy, I told you that your strength is insignificant when compared to my own. And now your beloved Charizard will pay the price for your weakness._

_No! Charizard!_

A loud alarm clock started echoing throughout a house in the small town Pallet, as young man with pitch-black hair was busy moving around in his bed. His eyes were clinched shut and it seemed that he was in a lot of pain. Just before things got worse, the young man opened his eyes and immediately sat up. As he gently placed his hand upon his face, while trying to catch his breath, he turned around a little and saw that his alarm clock was ringing. The sight of it caused him to sigh a little as he slowly made his way up to it and proceeded to cut it off.

"That dream," He said to himself. "I had that dream again."

"Ryan!" A female voice called from below. "Come downstairs and eat your breakfast!"

"Okay mom!" The boy replied. "I'll be down in a minute!"

The boy's name is Ryan Brooks, 15-year-old boy who lives in Pallet Town with his mother, Sarah. He is a kind young man who is filled with a seemingly endless supply of energy. Like most kids his age, it's his goal to one day leave home and become a master on the vast and mysterious creatures that roam the world. He wants to learn how to raise, interact with them, and Battle with them as well. Ryan's dream is to one day to become the world's greatest Master of Pokémon.

Pokémon come in all types of shapes and sizes and they also have powers beyond our wildest imaginations. They inhabit an extremely diverse range of habitats, ranging from the driest deserts to the lushest jungles, the deepest oceans to the highest mountains, and everything else in-between. Pokémon take up various ways of living in those places. However, all of them can be befriended and made into potential allies.

People can capture Pokémon to become more than just pets. Human Trainers and their Pokémon sometimes compete against others in amazing contests of strength, skill, and strategy. As they rise through the ranks, the best Trainers eventually Pokémon Masters. Ever since he was a little boy, it's been Ryan's dream to one day become a Pokémon Master, like his father and older sister before him. However, unlike the two of them, something has been preventing Ryan from going out and fulfilling his life-long dream.

"C'mon Ryan," Sarah called again "Your special birthday breakfast is going to get cold!"

Ryan nodded his head after hearing his mother call out to him again and quickly put on some clothes before making his way downstairs to the kitchen. Once he made it, he saw his mom waiting for him by a table. On the table was a plate of special chocolate chip pancakes, the type of pancakes that Ryan loved to eat, especially on his birthday. Without missing a beat, the young man quickly made his way over to the table and started eating. As he did that, his mother simply looked at him and smiled.

"Slow down dear," She told him. "You're going to make yourself sick if you continue eating like that."

Ryan heard his mother's request and tried his best to slow down while he ate his breakfast. However, Ryan found it difficult to do that as he loved eating whatever his mother prepared for him, especially if it was chocolate chip pancakes.

As he continued to eat, Sarah walked over towards the counter and picked up a card that was lying there. She then looked at the front of it and saw that it was addressed to her son. Already knowing who it was from, Sarah smiled to herself before making her way back over to Ryan. Once she did that, she handed the card over to him.

"Here Ryan," She said. "You got a card from your older sister."

Ryan stopped eating the instant his mother mention his older sister and proceeded to take the card from her. He then slowly removed the card from its covering and opened it up. When he did that, he saw a picture of a wide opened space that consisted of several trees and an ice-toped mountain in the background. Ryan also saw the image of several different types of Pokémon in the picture as well.

"Wow," He said to himself. "It looks like she's been busy these last couple of months."

Ryan's older sister started on her own Pokémon Journey a couple years after he was born. Since then, she hasn't been home a lot and usually relays what's been going on with her via letters and pictures. Ryan always liked learning about where his sister traveled to and it only strengthened his desire to leave home one day and do the same thing.

As he continued to examine the picture, the young man noticed that there was a letter addressed to him on the other side of the card. Wanting to know what his sister's been up too, Ryan wasted no time in reading the letter.

_Dear Ryan. _

_If you're reading this letter then today must be your 15__th__ birthday. I'm sorry that I'm not there to be there with you in person, but I'm currently busy doing some intense training with my Pokémon in the Sinnoh Region. I'll try to meet up with you the next I come back to Kanto. Or, who knows, maybe the next time we meet you'll be a Pokémon Trainer like me. If that's the case, then I hope we can have an epic Pokémon Battle. _

_Well, I don't want to keep you waiting so I'm going to tell you something very important. Mom and I have a special birthday present for you and we're pretty sure that you'll love it. However, we don't to show it to you right away so I need you go out and visit our good friend Professor Oak while mom prepares it. I promise you little brother, today is going to be a day you'll never forget._

_Sincerely, your Big Sister._

After he finished reading the letter, Ryan closed the card and sat it gently on the table. He then thought about what his sister wrote, especially in the first paragraph. Even though it was dream to become a Pokémon Master, Ryan felt that he couldn't achieve the dream. The reason for that is because of his mother, Sarah.

Originally, Ryan's family consisted of 4 people; his mother, father, sister, and himself. However, when he was 6-years-old, his sister left to begin her Pokémon Journey. Then, 2 years later while he was 8, his father died in an accident. Since then, it's just been Ryan and his mother living in their small house in Pallet Town. Not wanting her to live all by herself because of him, Ryan believed the best thing for him to do was to stay home and be with her. Even though it meant sacrificing his dream, the young man just couldn't live with himself if his mother had to suffer being all alone. She's already been through enough already and Ryan wasn't going to let her go through anything else.

While Ryan continued thinking to himself, Sarah looked at her soon and saw the serious expression that was on her son's face. She then turned her head towards a nearby closet and stared at it for a moment before turning her attention back over towards Ryan. She then walked over towards him and gently placed her hand upon his shoulder.

"Dear," She said. "You heard what your sister wanted you to do. You better head over towards Professor Oak's Pokémon Laboratory. I promise I'll have your gift ready for you by the time I get there myself."

"…Um. Right," Ryan replied, barely paying attention to what his mother just said to him. "I'll right now."

Kissing his mother on the cheek, Ryan walked over towards the front door of his house. He then put on a light blue jacket that was hanging on a nearby coat rack and proceeded to walk out the door. As he felt the cool spring breeze rub against his face, Ryan looked up at the clear blue sky and started thinking to himself.

"Today's my 15th birthday," He thought. "And she said it'll be a day that I'll never forget. Well sis, let's see if you're right."

* * *

In the Pokémon World, some people devote themselves to training Pokémon in order to make them stronger and others raise them in order take care of them in the best way possible. However, certain individuals study Pokémon in order to find out what they are and what they can do. Those individual are called Pokémon Professors and their job is to study the habits of different Pokémon so that humans can get a better understanding of them. Even though people have discovered much about Pokémon already, there are still plenty of things that people have yet to learn about them. Pokémon Professors find joy in learning more about the amazing creatures that roam this world as it gives them the chance to show everything that they learned to other people so that they can know the same thing that they do.

While most professors usually study Pokémon in order to learn about how the act or battle, certain professors attempt to discover the aspects of Pokémon that people usually don't discuss or have no interest in. Ironically, it is those people who have made the most impact in the Pokémon World as they help us grow closer to the magnificent creatures all together. Professor Samuel Oak is one of the people and his field of study is the interaction between humans and Pokémon.

As he made his way over to his laboratory, Ryan thought about the relationship that his family had with the Professor. Even though he was young at the time, he knew that Professor Oak was the one who gave his older sister her Starter Pokémon, the first Pokémon that a beginning Trainers receives before starting their Pokémon Journey. He also knows that the Professor also holds on to the Pokémon that the various Trainers from Pallet Town have captured during their Journey and takes care of them until they need them.

Ryan would usually head over to his lab in order to check the number of Pokémon that were being held there and to see if he could learn more about them from Professor Oak. However, today was different. This time, Ryan was heading over towards Professor Oak's lab because he was instructed too, not because of his choice. He wondered what his mother had for him that required him to leave home today and he also wonder what did he had over to Professor Oak's lab in the first place. In the end, the young man didn't know. So, in order to learn the reason behind his mother's and sister's actions, Ryan decided to go ahead and do what they wanted him to do.

Eventually, after walking for about 10 minutes, Ryan reached the Oak Laboratory. It was a fairly large building that had the appearance of a farm house. The complex also has a large open area that takes up around 40% of all of Pallet Town. The reason why Professor Oak needs so much space is because that's where the Pokémon that's left in his care are usually hanging around at during the day. Since Pokémon are best studied in their natural environment, Professor Oak has also transformed the wide up space that he's acquired into a superstructure that contains areas for all types of Pokémon. With that superstructure, Professor Oak is confident that all the Pokémon he has with him are happy and comfortable.

Upon reaching the entrance to the lab, Ryan knocked on the front door and waited patiently for a response. Once he did that, he waited patiently for Professor Oak to come and open the door for him. However, after about 5 minutes there was no reply.

"Hello," Ryan said. "It's Ryan, Professor Oak."

The young man knocked on the door one more time and again he waited for someone to come open the door for him. However, there was still no reply.

"What's going on?" He thought quietly. "Even when he has lots of work to do, Professor Oak always makes time to come and open the door if he as company. If he's not answering then something must be up."

Ryan placed his hand on the doorknob and gently turned it towards the right. When he did, he was surprised to find out that he was able to turn it all the way, indicating that the door wasn't locked. After opening the door and walking inside the lab, Ryan was surprised to find out that the place was a mess.

"What the…hell happened in here?!"

"Uh….Ryan…is that…you?"

Upon hearing someone calling out to him, Ryan's eyes widen and recognized the voice to be Professor Oak's. He then ran inside the lab trying to look for him. Eventually, Ryan was able to find the Professor by his main desk and proceeded to make his way up to him. Once he was there, he went on to help the professor get back on his feet.

"Professor Oak," He said in a worried tone of voice. "What's going on here? What happened to you?"

Professor Oak still seemed somewhat groggy and thus wasn't able to answer Ryan's questions right away. So, the young gently placed the professor on a nearby couch and left to go grab and a cup on water. Once he returned, he presented the water to Professor Oak and watched as he began to drink it. When he finished, the professor started to feel better and started to answer his young friend's question.

"It was earlier today," He started off. "I was busy doing my daily check-up on Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, the Starter Pokémon that beginning Trainers in the Kanto Region receive. Everything was going smoothly, but then a large flock of Spearow flew in and started making a mess of the place. During the commotion the Starter Pokémon got scared and ran away into my superstructure. I was going to go after them, but I ended up tripping up and banging my head up against my desk. I just regained consciousness a few moments ago, probably when arrived."

"I see," Ryan said as he nodded his head. "That explains why your place is in the condition it's in and why you were lying on the floor."

"Yeah," Oak confirmed. "However, the condition of myself and my lab is unimportant right now. I have to find Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle right away. Those three are still very young and inexperienced. I can't imagine could happen to them if they're left all alone."

Ryan clinched his fist as thought about what Professor Oak just said. Without proper guidance, the 3 Starter Pokémon could end up getting really hurt or even worse. If that happened, then they wouldn't be in any condition to distributed to any of the new Pokémon Trainers. Ryan didn't want that to happen. Even though he didn't have a Pokémon of his own, he knew from his big sister that the relationship between a Trainer and their first Pokémon was very special. It creates a bond between them, one that can't be broken. Not wanting any of those young Trainers to miss out in having such a bond, Ryan knew what he had to do.

"Professor Oak," He said. "Let me help you search for those missing Pokémon!"

Professor Oak looked at the young man and saw the determination that was in his eyes. Even though none of the missing Pokémon belonged to him, Ryan couldn't stand there and hope that they might come back. He wanted to help bring them back and no one, not even the professor himself, was going to stop them. With that, Oak got up from the couch and looked Ryan in the eyes.

"Okay Ryan," He said. "Let's get going. If we move now then I'm sure we can catch up with them before they get too far."

Ryan nodded his head in response to the Professor Oak statement. He then walked with him as they quickly made their way towards the superstructure. Once they were there, the two of them walked around and tried looking for the missing Pokémon. As they did that, Ryan took quick glances at the other Pokémon that were walking around area.

After a few minutes of looking around, the two of them managed to locate the first Pokémon. It was Bulbasaur, a Grass-Type Pokémon that looked like a small green dinosaur with spots all over its boy. It also had bright red eyes, claws growing out of its small legs, and an onion-like plant bulb on its back. The Pokémon was in a somewhat large tree and Professor Oak believed that it jumped up there in order to avoid any trouble. However, now that it was so far from the ground, Bulbasaur was too afraid to come down the tree by itself.

"Don't worry Bulbasaur!" Professor Oak called. "We're coming to get you. Don't move and we'll be right up!"

Still somewhat frightened, Bulbasaur nodded its head and watched as Professor Oak ran towards the tree jumped towards it. He then wrapped his entire body around the tree and tried his best to make his way up to where the Grass-Type Starter was. However, due to his old age, Professor Oak didn't make it that far and eventually fell back down to the ground. Ryan saw this and quickly made his way over to him.

"Are you okay Professor?" He asked as he helped him up.

"Ow…Yeah," Oak replied as he held his back a little. "I'll be okay. Curse this old body of mine. If I was only 10 years younger, then I could get up there with no problems. But now…"

As the professor continued lamenting on his old age, Ryan started climbing the tree and started making his way to where Bulbasaur was. By the time Oak realized that he was gone, Ryan was already half-way there. He soon reached the branch where Bulbasaur was and jumped towards it. After pulling himself up, the young man slowly made his way towards the Grass-Type Pokémon.

"Don't worry Bulbasaur," He said. "Just stay right there and I'll get you down."

Ryan continued to slowly crawl towards Bulbasaur, he noticed that the Pokémon was very cautious of him and started to back away. Even when told it that he wasn't here to hurt it, Bulbasaur still remained wary of him and kept backing away. It only stopped moving back when Ryan moving towards it.

"What am I going to do?" He thought. "If I keep moving forward then Bulbasaur will back up and if I move back then Bulbasaur won't move at all. I have to find a way to make it come towards me. The question is…how?"

As he pondered this, Ryan lifted his head and looked at the tree without even thinking. When he did that, he saw a bunch of blue berries in the branches and started to pick some as a result. He then started to eat one of the berries and, as he did that, the young man noticed something. He saw that Bulbasaur was drooling somewhat and was slowly making its way towards him. Ryan looked at the Grass-Type Pokémon as it came towards him before looking down at the berries that he was holding. It was here that Ryan got an idea and proceeded to present one of the berries to Bulbasaur.

Slowly, but surely, Bulbasaur walked towards Ryan until eventually it reached him. Once it did, the Grass Pokémon started eating the berry that he held out for it. The sight of that caused him to smile as he started presenting Bulbasaur with even more berries to eat.

"Alright, my plan worked!" He continued thinking to himself. "Since Bulbasaur was hungry I knew that it would be attracted to the food that had. Good thing this is a berry tree or else things could have gotten a lot worse."

After letting Bulbasaur eat two more berries, Ryan put the rest that he had into his pocket before holding the Grass-Type Pokémon in his arms. He then jumped down from the tree and landed right next to Professor Oak. Once his feet were settled, he then placed Bulbasaur back on the ground.

"Good work Ryan," Professor Oak complimented. "That was very smart of you to use the berries in the trees to help bring Bulbasaur over to you. I must say, I'm very impressed."

"Um…thanks Professor," Ryan replied. "But when I first picked the fruit, I did it because I was hungry. It's only when I saw Bulbasaur drooling that I thought I could use them to bring it over to me. Truthfully, I lucked out."

"Well…sometimes luck plays an important role in the world of Pokémon." The Professor explained. "Sometimes the smallest accidents can lead to enormous outcomes. I could tell you more about this, but I'll save that conversation for another day. In the meantime, let's look for Squirtle and Charmander."

Ryan nodded his head in agreement and proceeded to leave with Professor Oak and Bulbasaur as the three of them started looking for the remaining two Pokémon. As they walked, Ryan continued to examine superstructure that they were walking on and was amazed how well built it was. There lakes for Water-Type Pokémon, deserts for Ground and Rock-Type Pokémon, as well as a variety of other fields. The sight of them, as well as the Pokémon that were living there, impressed the young man greatly and he considered Professor Oak to be really lucky to be able study all these Pokémon.

Eventually the ground found another of the Starter Pokémon that they were looking for. It was Squirtle, a Water-Type Pokémon that had the appearance of a small blue turtle. Ryan, Professor Oak, and Bulbasaur were relieved to see that nothing happened to Squirtle and that it was simply eating some Pokémon food that it found on the ground. Ryan was about to head over towards it, but was soon stopped when Oak placed his hand out in front of him. When he did, the young man looked up and saw that the Professor had a pretty intense look on his face.

"What's wrong Professor Oak?" Ryan asked. "I mean, we found Squirtle."

"I know," Oak replied. "But that's not what I worried about. Just look and find out."

Ryan was confused why Professor Oak wanted him to look at Squirtle again, but he decided to do what he said and turn his attention back towards the Water-Type Pokémon. When he did, he shocked to see that Squirtle was slowly being surrounded by several other Pokémon. It was here that Ryan realized what Professor Oak was worried about. Squirtle had accidently eaten some food that it thought it was his. Because of that the Pokémon, who the food was really for, are now angry at Squirtle and close to making it pay.

"Oh no," He thought. "We got to act fast otherwise…"

As he tried coming up with a plan, Ryan placed his hands into pockets. However, he found it hard to do so as berries he brought with him were preventing him from putting his hands in all the way.

"Wait a minute. I got another idea."

After formulating his plan in his head, Ryan nodded to himself before whispering to Professor Oak about what he wanted to do. Upon hearing the plan, the Professor agreed to follow it and stood back as Ryan walked towards all the Pokémon. Once he reached a certain distance, the young man threw all the berries towards the group of Pokémon.

When the Pokémon noticed the berries all of their stomachs started growling, reminding them that they were still hungry. They then forgot anger towards Squirtle and immediately rushed over towards the food that was across from them. As they eat, Professor Oak took the opportunity to grab Squirtle before any of the other Pokémon noticed that the Water-Type Pokémon was gone. When the Professor came back, Ryan nodded his head in approval before gently taking Squirtle and placing it on the ground, right next to Bulbasaur. The young man then turned his attention back towards Professor Oak.

"Good job in grabbing Squirtle, Professor," Ryan complimented. "Now the only one that we have to find is Charmander, right?"

"That's right," Oak confirmed. "Let's get moving. Out of all the Starter Pokémon, Charmander is the one I'm worried about the most."

Ryan looked at Professor Oak with a puzzled expression on his face when he heard him say that he was worried about Charmander the most out of the 3 Starter Pokémon. A part of him wanted to ask him why he said that, but he decided not to. Right now, finding Charmander comes first and everything else is second.

After checking up on Squirtle and making sure that it was okay, Ryan and Professor Oak continued walking through the superstructure as they looked for the missing Charmander. They started search near the desert area first since Charmander is a Fire-Type Pokémon and thus likes being in warm locations. However, when they looked around, all that they could find was a bunch of Rock and Ground-Type Pokémon. They seen decided to roam the grassy plains, but Charmander wasn't there either. With no other place left to search, Ryan and Professor decided to enter the forest in hope that the missing Pokémon was in there.

The two of them decided to split up in order to cover more ground, so Ryan took Squirtle with him and went left while Professor Oak took Bulbasaur and right. Having roam the forest plenty of times while conducting his research, Oak didn't have much of a problem looking around the area. However, Ryan was having a much more difficult time. Having never entered the forest that was connected to Oak's superstructure, Ryan had absolutely no idea on where he should go. Eventually, it soon came to point where the young man forgot where he was and ended up becoming lost. Still despite that setback, Ryan was determined find Charmander no matter what and no forest was going to stop him from doing so.

Eventually, after about 2 hours of walking, Ryan and Squirtle made their way towards a river. Ryan heard that the people of Pallet Town get their water from a nearby riverbed that flows through the entire forest. He believed that the river that he was looking at was the same one that heard about and proceeded to make his way towards it. As he and Squirtle examined the crystal clear water, Ryan started to hear something that sound like the splashing of water. He looked down at Squirtle and saw that it wasn't doing anything, which meant it was something else that was causing that noise.

"What's going on?" He thought. "Where's that noise coming from?"

Ryan continued to examine the river in order to find the source of the noise. After walking downstream for about 5 minutes, he eventually found what he was looking for. There was a small orange lizard Pokémon, with a yellow belly and bright blue eyes. It also had a long tail whose tip was on fire. Upon looking at the Pokémon for a few moments, Ryan knew immediately who it was.

"It's Charmander!"

The sight of the Fire-Type Pokémon brought a smile onto Ryan's face as he was glad that it was alright. He also noticed that it was Charmander who making the splashing noise from before. It was trying to touch the top of a Magikarp, a Water-Type Pokémon that resembles a big red fish with yellow whiskers. However, since Magikarp was underwater and Charmander's arms weren't long enough to reach it, the closest the Fire-Type Pokémon got to touching it was when it touched the top of the riverbed. Still, Charmander wasn't about to give up and attempted to reach Magikarp by moving a little bit closer to the river.

Ryan was impressed by Charmander's determination to touch the Magikarp and a small smile appeared on his face as a result. As he watched the Pokémon attempt to accomplish its goal, Professor Oak noticed Ryan from a distance and quickly came up to him along with Bulbasaur.

"Ryan," He said. "Have you had any luck in finding Charmander?"

"Yeah," Ryan answered. "It's right over there."

The young man pointed its finger towards other side of the river where Charmander was. When Professor looked in that direction, he was relieved to see that Charmander was alright. However, that relief quickly turned into worry when he noticed how close it was from falling into the river.

"No Charmander!" He called. "Don't get too close to the water!"

The Fire-Type Pokémon couldn't hear the Professor's warning due to noise of the river and its own curiosity, so it continued to get closer to the water. This worried Professor Oak even more and he once again called out to Charmander.

"Get away from there Charmander!" He yelled. "You can't afford to have the flame on your tail go out!"

"What are you talking about Professor Oak?" Ryan asked, confused why the Professor was so worried. "Why can't Charmander let its tail flame go out?"

"Charmanders are very special Pokémon Ryan," Oak explained. "The flame on their tails represents their current health. If it's burning brightly then that means Charmander is feeling well. However, if it's burning weakly, then that means Charmander is in pretty bad shape. Then…if the tail flames goes out completely…Charmander will…"

Ryan's eyes widen from shock as he understood what Professor Oak meant. If Charmander's tail flame goes out, whether it be intentional or not, then it will die. The mere thought of that, shook him to the core as he didn't want such a fate to befall the young Fire-Type Pokémon. Turning his attention back towards the river, Ryan looked on and saw that while Charmander hasn't fallen into the water yet, it was dangerously close from doing so. This prompted him to go into the river himself and attempt to reach Charmander before it fell in.

"Don't fall in Charmander," Ryan thought to himself. "Just don't fall in. I'm coming to get you."

As Ryan tried his best to fight off the strong river current, his actions caused the Magikarp that Charmander was trying to get, to swim away. Charmander was shocked by this and attempted to catch the Water-Type Pokémon before it got too far. Unfortunately, as it attempted to move, Charmander slipped and ended up falling into the water. The sight of that frightened Professor Oak, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle as they could only watch as Charmander was trying its hardest from keeping itself from submerging into the water completely.

Ryan, seeing what was taking place, decided to act fast and proceeded to dive underwater. Since the water current was a lot weaker below the water than from up top, Ryan was able to reach the other side of the river a lot quicker. He then proceeded to get right below where Charmander was and went on to lift his arms up before swimming back up. By doing this, Ryan was able to lift Charmander from above the water.

"Don't worry Charmander," He said. "I got you. You're going to be just fine…I promise."

Ryan went on to slowly make his way back towards Professor Oak and the other Pokémon while he continued to hold Charmander high into the air. However, since he wasn't able to utilize his full strength, Ryan was having a hard time reaching the other side. It soon came to the point that he found himself becoming submerged into the water again. However, Ryan wasn't about to let Charmander become submerge as well and made sure that Fire-Type Pokémon remained above the river.

"I'm not about to let you fall in!" He thought while holding his breath. "You're going to get through this Charmander. One day, you're going to be chosen by a young Pokémon Trainer and the two of you are going to go on a lot of fun adventures. Then, as you grow stronger, you're going to evolve into a mighty Charmeleon and then into a powerful Charizard! I'm not about to let you die here and be robbed from such an opportunity. You hear me Charmander…I won't let you die!"

As Ryan tried his hardest to keep Charmander from falling in again, Professor Oak was busy coming up with a way to help to the two of them. After some quick thinking, he was able to come up with a plan and instructed Squirtle to jump into the water and help Ryan up. The small turtle Pokémon did what was told and proceeded to swiftly swim towards Ryan. It then helped the young man up by pushing him upward with its hard shell.

Once Ryan's head was above the water, Oak continued on with the second phase of his plan. He had Bulbasaur use its Vine Whip attack, a technique in which it releases two vines from the side of its plant bulb. With those vines, Professor Oak instructed the Grass-Type Pokémon to wrap the vines around Ryan, which Bulbasaur proceeded to do so. Once both vines were firmly around Ryan, Professor Oak grabbed hold of them and started to pull him back to the other side of the river. The process was hard and tiring, but with Bulbasaur and Squirtle helping him out, Oak was eventually able to get Ryan and Charmander out of the river. He then rushed over towards the both of them as Bulbasaur retracted his vines back into its plant bulb.

"Are the both of you alright?" He asked.

"…Don't…worry about…me," Ryan said, while trying his best to catch his breath. "Find out if…Charmander is…okay…"

Ryan placed Charmander gently on the ground before trying to catch his breath again. Professor Oak then went on to examine the Fire-Type Pokémon and noticed that while it was weak from its experience, the flame on the tip of its tail was still lit.

"Charmander is going to be fine," Professor Oak said with a sigh of relief. "However, we should get back to lab so that we can warm it up."

Ryan nodded his head in agreement and quickly picked up Charmander before picking himself up. He then went with Professor Oak, and the remaining two Pokémon, back into lab so that the former could treat Charmander.

Hours soon passed by and the sun was beginning to set. Ryan's mother soon came over to the lab and was informed about what happened today. She was worried about her son and asked him if he needed anything. However, Ryan told her that he was fine and simply remained by Charmander's side as it slept by the fire place. The young man felt that anything that his condition was irrelevant compared to Charmander's and he wanted to make sure that it was okay. Eventually, after sleeping by the fire for another hour, Charmander woke up and saw that Ryan was looking at it with a smile on his face. He then proceeded to gently rub the Pokémon's head before lifting it up in his arms and bringing it over to Professor Oak and his mother.

"Guys," He said excitedly. "Charmander woke up!"

Professor Oak and Sarah were surprised to hear so they turned their attention towards Charmander in order to see if it was true. The former of the two went on to take place Charmander on a table proceeded to examine it for a few minutes. Once he finished, Professor Oak looked at its tail flame and was happy to see that it was burning brightly. He then turned his attention towards Ryan nodded his head in approval.

"Thank you Ryan," He said. "It was due to your quick thinking that Charmander's okay. You have my upmost gratitude."

"Don't mention it Professor," Ryan replied with a smile. "I'm just happy that Charmander is alright."

Ryan turned his attention back towards the Fire-Type Pokémon and watched as it was playing with Bulbasaur and Squirtle, as the two of them were happy that their friend was okay. The sight of this scene caused the smile that Ryan was wearing to grow bigger and he simply looked on and watched as the 3 Pokémon interacted with one another.

As that was happening, Professor Oak turned her attention towards Sarah and proceeded to whisper something into her ear. Once she heard what he had to say, Sarah smiled at the Professor and nodded her head in approval. This lead Professor Oak to smile as well and he proceeded to make his way over towards his desk. Once he was there, he went on to get a metal ball that was red on top and white on the bottom. Also the middle of the ball had a button on the middle of it, which Oak proceeded to press. When he did, the ball shrunk to the size of a ping-pong ball. The Professor nodded to himself upon seeing that and went to press the button again, returning the ball back to its normal size. He then walked over towards Ryan as the young man continued to watch the Pokémon play.

"Ryan," He said. "Can you come here for a moment? I have something for you."

Ryan heard the Professor calling him, so he stopped what he was doing and walked over towards him. Once he reached him, the young man looked on as Professor Oak placed the red and white ball that he was holding into his hand. Ryan went on to examine the ball for a few short moments before looking at Oak again.

"Professor," He said. "Why are you giving me a Pokeball? These are given to Pokémon Trainers so that they can use them to capture wild Pokémon. Why are you giving one to me when I'm not a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Because Ryan," Professor Oak started to explain. "It's your birthday and my present to you is for to have one of those three Pokémon over there."

Upon hearing the Professor's explanation, Ryan's eyes widen from shock as he couldn't believe what he just heard. Professor Oak was actually giving him one of his Pokémon. Not only that, but the Pokémon he was getting was one of the Kanto Starters. The thought of having one of them was almost too good to be true and Ryan wanted to be sure if Professor Oak really meant what he said.

"Are you sure Professor?" He asked.

"Of course," Oak replied. "Ryan, you went out of your way to help me get back Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle even though you didn't have too. If it wasn't for you then who knows what could have happened to them. Besides, I can tell by the way you're looking at them that you would take good care of them. With that in mind, how could I not give one of them to you?"

Some tears started to form in Ryan's eyes, which he proceeded to wipe away. He then looked at the Pokeball for a few moments before turning his head back towards Professor Oak. Once he did that, Ryan smiled at him before nodding his head.

"Thank you Professor Oak," He said to him.

With that said, Ryan turned his attention back towards the Pokémon and watched as all three of them were standing right in from of him. He then thought about which Pokémon he wanted to have. Bulbasaur looked very strong and Ryan knew firsthand how useful its Vine Whip was. However, Squirtle looked just as powerful and the fact that it could breath underwater could be useful in certain situations.

Then there was Charmander. Even though its appearance gives the impression that it wasn't very powerful, Ryan knew how much potential the young Pokémon had. Also, for some reason that he just couldn't explain, Ryan felt a strong connection with the Fire-Type Pokémon. Perhaps it was because he saved its life or maybe it was because he knew what type of Pokémon it can evolve into. In the end, Ryan didn't know. However, what he did know is that Charmander was a very special Pokémon to him, one that he would take extra care of and trained to be the best it could be.

After thinking about it for few minutes, Ryan made his decision and made his way over to all three Pokémon. He then gently rubbed the top of Charmander's head and watched as the Pokémon smiled at him. The sight of that caused him to smile too and Ryan went on to hold Charmander up in the air.

"Professor Oak," He said. "The Pokémon I want to have is Charmander."

Upon hearing Ryan choose it, Charmander lit up and proceeded to happily embrace its new Trainer. Bulbasaur and Squirtle were a little bit upset that they weren't chosen instead, but the two Pokémon accepted the decision and were happy that their friend found a Trainer that we take care of it.

Soon, after Ryan placed Charmander down and talked about all the fun things that they were going to do together, Sarah proceeded to walk over towards her son. Once she reached him, she went on to give him a red backpack that was pretty heavy. Ryan was confused why his mother gave him this and went on to unzip in order to see what was inside. When he did, he saw that the bag was filled with spare clothes, a sleeping bag, and other utensils. Once he finished looking he through, he looked up and listened as his mother started talking to him.

"Ryan," She said. "Now that you have Pokémon of your very own, it's only natural that you would want to go out on a Journey. So, I took some time today to make sure that you would have everything you needed for your trip."

"But mom," Ryan said to her. "I appreciate this but…if I leave…you'll"

Ryan looked down and started clinching his fist in anguish. Now that he had a Pokémon of his very own, he wanted to leave home and attempt to achieve his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. However, he remembered how lonely his mother be if he left and the thought of that made it difficult for him to leave. He was about to tell her that he was going to stay here in Pallet Town, but Sarah stopped him before he could. She then gently placed her hand upon his shoulder.

"Dear," She said. "Remember when you read the letter that your big sister sent you about how she wanted you to head over to Professor Oak's so that I could prepare something? Well, this is it. The three of us knew how much you wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer and we also knew why you choose to stay home even though it meant losing your dream. However, I can assure you that I'll be just fine. All I want you to do is be safe, have fun, and to make sure you change your underwear every day. If you do those things for me then I know that all is well."

Tears began running down Ryan's face again after hearing his mother say that she'll be fine without him and that she'll let him leave to become a Pokémon Trainer. Hearing that lifted a huge weight from his shoulders and he immediately went on to thank her before hugging her close to him. Sarah smiled when this happened and went on to embrace her son, happy in knowledge that he now go out and achieve his lifelong goal.

After the embrace, the two of them spent the rest of the day with Professor Oak and the Starter Pokémon as all them celebrated Ryan's 15th birthday. There was good food, cake, ice cream, as well as various other things. Ryan has had a lot of fun birthdays before in the past, but he felt that this one was his best yet as it was the day that changed everything for him…forever.

* * *

_I told you it's no use!_

_I don't care what you say, you bastard! It's not over until it's over!_

_You insolent child…how dare you infuriate me!_

The next day, Ryan woke up to sound of his alarm clock and proceeded to cut it off before the noise became too much for him to bear. He then sat up and saw that Charmander was sleeping peacefully on top of him. The sight of the Fire-Type Pokémon brought a smile on his face as it meant that everything that took place yesterday wasn't just a dream. He then started to gently rubbed his new Pokémon as he started thinking to himself.

"What's going on?" He said quietly. "Why do I keep having that same dream?"

Ryan was starting to become worried with having the same dream over and over again for the past couple of days and wondered if it had any meaning behind it. He then remembered something about that dream and focused his attention Charmander when he did.

"Charmander's final evolved form is Charizard. Could the Charizard that I'm using in my dreams be the Charmander that's with me right now?"

As he continued thinking about this, Ryan noticed that Charmander was beginning to wake up. Once it did, the Fire-Type Pokémon yawned before turning its attention towards Ryan and smiling at him. Seeing that caused Ryan to smile some more and he proceeded to hold the Pokémon in his arms.

"Well…even if that's the case," He thought. "I'm pretty sure that we won't be facing someone like him. I mean, there's no way someone like him could even exist."

Later on that day, after getting dress and putting something into his stomach, Ryan was getting ready to leave home so that he could begin his Pokémon Journey. As he stood just outside his house, Ryan and Charmander were soon joined by his mother and Professor Oak.

"Alright then," He said to them. "This is it. I promise I'll come home whenever possible."

"Wait Ryan," Professor Oak said. "Before you go, I have few things that I want to give to you."

As the Professor made his way up to Ryan, he went into his coat pocket and proceeded to pull out a few items. When Ryan looked at them, he saw that Professor Oak was holding a set 5 Pokeballs and a red rectangular shaped object. He then turned his attention back towards the Professor when he finally reached him.

"What are these for?" He asked.

"These are for you," Professor Oak answered. "With these 5 Pokeballs you can attempt to catch whatever that happens to take your fancy while you're on your journey. And, with this Pokedex, you can look up information on any Pokémon that you're unfamiliar with. Also, the Pokedex will also act as your official Pokémon License, so be sure to take good care of it."

Ryan nodded his head and went to grab the items that Professor Oak wanted him to have. He placed the empty Pokeballs onto his belt, that way he could have quick access to them if he needed them. Once he did that, he went on to examine the Pokedex and saw that it was kind of like a small computer. As he opened it up and activated it, the young man saw that the computer it had started to light up and soon displayed an image of him. When that happened, the Pokedex started talking.

"_I'm Dexter, a Pokedex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon Trainer Ryan Brooks from the town of Pallet. My function is to give Ryan information and advice about Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced."_

Ryan was amazed by the Pokedex's ability to talk and thought to himself that it would really useful to him as he traveled around the Pokémon World. He then proceeded to place the device into his coat pocket before turning to face Professor Oak again.

"Thank you Professor," He said.

"Don't mention it," Oak replied. "And remember…if you ever need anything just call me and I'll try to help you in whatever way possible."

The young man nodded his head and agreed to do so if ever the time came. He soon turned his attention over towards his mother and shared one last embrace with her before leaving. Knowing that this would be the last time they would physically see one another for quite awhile, Ryan tried to put all of his love and affection into this one hug. When they finally broke the embrace, Sarah gently kissed Ryan's head and smiled at him.

"Well…it's time," She said.

"Yeah," Ryan replied. "I promise I'll try to bring you several gifts and trophies."

"You just bring yourself home Ryan." Sarah told him. "That's all that I want."

Ryan smiled and promised his mother that he would return home someday. He then turned his attention towards Charmander and saw that the Fire-Type Pokémon was ready to begin. With that, Ryan said goodbye to both his mother and Professor Oak one last time before leaving to begin his Pokémon Journey. As they watched him leave, Oak turned towards Sarah and saw that while she was smiling some tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Sarah," He said. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She answered. "He has a long road ahead of him, but I know that he'll be just fine. He went through his first trial into becoming a Pokémon Master and he passed it with family colors. If he can get through that then there's nothing he can't handle. I mean…he has his father's blood running through his veins."

Professor Oak turned his head back towards Ryan and saw that he was already pretty far away. As he watched him walk, he noticed something walking along with him. It was man with pitch-black hair and blue eyes, the same features that Ryan has. He then watched as the man disappeared, causing him to smile and nod his head in approval.

"Yeah," He said. "You're right about that."

Soon, after walking for about 20 minutes, Ryan and Charmander reached the edge of Pallet Town. However, before they left, the two of them turn around and looked back at the town where they were born and raised in. Ryan then proceeded to raise both of his hands up into the air and looked at the sky before declaring something for everyone to hear.

"Look out Pallet Town because I'm doing to do it!" He yelled. "I'm going to become a Pokémon Master!"

Charmander agreed with his enthusiastic Trainer and proceeded to do the same thing that he was down. Once the two of them finished, they proceeded to make their leave and begin their Pokémon Journey. They knew that the trials that they would have to face would be tough, but they were confident that as long as they were together then they could overcome any obstacle.

* * *

_**Chapter Preview**_

_Now that he's begun his Pokémon Journey, Ryan will have to find out quickly that training and catching Pokémon is no easy feat. Can he and Charmander over this challenge and make a new friend in the process? Also, who's this pretty brown haired girl?_

_Next Time, Chapter 2: New Friends_

* * *

_**Announcements**_

**Spirit Reader: **_Hey guys, I hope you all like the first chapter of Trials to Becoming a Master. I worked really hard on it so I would really appreciate a Review so that I can hear your opinions on it. Whether they're good or bad, your words motivate me to improve myself so that I can continue to make the best Pokémon story possible._

_Also, if all of you like this story, then please take a look over at my other story; Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Over the Nexus. It's highly successful and it's always looking for new people to read and review it. Please take the time to look at it when you have the chance._

_Well, that's all I have to say for now. Until next time, this is Spirit Reader signing off!_


	2. Chapter 2

Trials to Becoming a Master

Fanfiction by- Spirit Reader

Pokémon original creator- Satoshi Tajiri

**Chapter 2: **_New Friends_

* * *

The path to becoming a Pokémon Master always begins with the very first step that a Trainer takes. It's this one step that not only starts their Journey, but also paves the way for them to shape their destiny. For Ryan Brooks, a young man now beginning his own Journey, his first step was a lot more challenging than what he expected it would be. In fact, up until yesterday, he thought it would be impossible for him to even become a Pokémon Trainer. However, like most things in life, nothing is impossible.

On his 15th birthday, Ryan left home to visit Professor Oak, a friend of his family and one the Kanto Region's leading Pokémon Researchers. During his time at his Pokémon Laboratory, the young man helped the Professor round up a Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, otherwise known as the 3 Pokémon that a Beginning Trainer can get to start their Journey. During the ordeal, Professor Oak saw how well Ryan tended to each of the Pokémon and how he was able to bond with each of them. This is especially true for the Charmander, who Ryan saved from drowning in river.

For his kindness and his act of bravery, Professor Oak gave Ryan the choice of having one of the three Starter Pokémon. After much consideration, Ryan chose Charmander after realizing that he and the Fire-Type Pokémon have already formed a special bond. Shortly after that, Ryan's mother, Sarah, came along and presented him with the means to begin his very own Pokémon Journey. Despite being reluctant to go at first, especially since it would mean that his mother who now be all alone, Ryan agreed to leave when Sarah expressed her confidence that her son could achieve his life-long dream.

Following morning, after a goodnight's sleep, Ryan got ready leave his hometown of Pallet and begin his Pokémon Journey. After receiving some last minute tools from Professor Oak and some much needed words of encouragement from his mother, Ryan went on his way alongside his Charmander. When the two of them eventually reached the edge of Pallet Town, Ryan turned around at his home one last time before declaring that he would one day become a Pokémon Master. With that said, he and his Starter Pokémon left and got ready begin the journey that would allow them to achieve their destiny.

It's been a few hours since then and, for the time being, both Ryan and Charmander were both continuing on the path that led from their home. Their current destination was to make their way towards Viridian City, which is the closest place from Pallet Town. The distance from Pallet Town and Viridian is usually about an hour on a car or truck. However, since Ryan and Charmander were making their way there on foot, the time it would take them to reach the city would range around 5 to 7 hours. Normally, such a distance would be too much for a person to bear. However, knowing he would have to travel even greater distances during his Pokémon Journey, Ryan didn't complain about. In fact, he actually reveled in it.

As a beginning Pokémon Trainer, Ryan understood that he would need a lot of help if he wished to achieve his dream of one day becoming a Master. For that reason, he knew that he would quickly have to master one of the basic trials of a Pokémon Trainer. Catching Pokémon that he finds in the wild and raising them to be as strong as they can possibly be. With those Pokémon in hand, Ryan knew that they would not only help him through his journey, but they would also make it that much more fun as well. To that end, the young man made it a point to raise his Pokémon with absolute care once they were under his ownership.

"Hmm…I what type of Pokémon should I try and catch first?" He said to himself. "A Bug-Type or perhaps a Grass-Type? Then again, having a Water-Type Pokémon wouldn't be bad either. Oh well…no matter what type they are, I'll be satisfied with any Pokémon that I manage to capture."

While he continued to talk to himself about what type of Pokémon that he wanted to captured, Ryan's Charmander simply looked at his new Trainer while the two of them walked. Seeing his enthusiasm brought a smile on the face of the Fire-Type Pokémon as it knew how good of a person Ryan was and how much potential that he had as well. Because of that, Charmander decided that it work very hard for Ryan so that he wouldn't regret choosing it as his Starter Pokémon. No matter how strong the obstacle may be or how tall the wall they have to climb, Charmander resigned itself to always be there for its Trainer whenever he needed it to be. After all, Ryan risked his life in order to help save Charmander. The very least that Charmander could do to repay him was to help him achieve his dream.

After another hour passed by on their Trip to Viridian City, both Ryan and Charmander continued looking around the grassy plains for any Pokémon that they could find. The process was difficult however as wild Pokémon usually tend to stay away from humans whenever possible. Still, that thought only motivated them to keep on looking as it would be that much sweeter when they eventually find one.

Eventually, while they continued to look around, Charmander heard something rustling through the grass. Wondering what it could be, the Fire-Type Pokémon proceeded to move through the portion of the grass where it heard noise. It continued to do this until it eventually found its source. When it did, Charmander alerted Ryan and the young man quickly made his way over to his Pokémon. Upon looking into the direction in which Charmander was pointing out to him, Ryan happened to see a wild Pokémon in the distance. It has the appearance of a small mouse with purple fur on the top of its body and white on the bottom. The mouse also had a slightly curled tail, red eyes, and a large set of buck teeth.

As he continued to look at the Pokémon search for any food that it could find within the large field of grass, Ryan's eyes let up from excitement. Beside from the Pokémon that he might see roaming around his home or when he visits Professor Oak's lab, Ryan hardly get Pokémon up close. Also, the fact that his mouse Pokémon was from the wild made him even more excited as it meant he could catch it.

"This is so awesome," He said quietly so to not alert the Pokémon of his presence. "I'm actually looking at a wild Pokémon. I wonder what it is."

While he pondered that question for a few moments, Ryan proceeded to place his hands within his pockets. When he did, he felt something and proceeded to pull it out. When he looked at it, the young man saw that it was the Pokedex that Professor Oak gave him earlier today.

"Oh yeah," He said. "The Professor told me that this Pokedex contained information about Pokémon. It can probably tell me about that wild Pokémon over there."

With that mindset in place, Ryan proceeded to open the Pokedex and point it towards the mouse Pokémon. When he did that, the image of the Pokémon appeared on the display screen as the device started to speak as it did earlier.

"_Rattata, the Mouse Pokémon," _Dexter stated. _"Rattata is cautious in the extreme. Even while it is asleep, it constantly listens by moving its ears around. Having basic survival instincts, Rattata have the ability to survive in nearly any environment."_

When Dexter finished its explanation, its display proceeded to go blank again, resulting in Ryan closing his Pokedex and placing it back into his pocket. Once he did that, Ryan turned his attention back towards Rattata and saw that it was still moving the grass, searching for food. As he looked on, he thought about how cool it would be to have a Rattata. With its cautious nature and good survival instincts, the young man was sure that it would be good addition to his Pokémon team. It didn't take him long to come to terms on what he wanted to do and he prepared himself to take action.

"Alright," He said. "Let's do this. Stand back Charmander, this won't take long."

Charmander looked on at Ryan and saw his Trainer was slowly making his way towards one of the empty Pokeballs that was attached to his belt. Realizing that he was about to do something important, Charmander shook its head and went on to take a few steps back.

Once he was certain that his Pokémon was behind him, Ryan grabbed the empty Pokeball from his belt and went on to press the button that was on the middle of it. When that happened, the capture device activated and proceeded to expand until it was the side of a baseball. Ryan then held the Pokeball firmly in his hand as he got ready to take aim and throw it towards Rattata.

"This is it! You're mine Rattata!"

With that said, the young man threw the ball with all his might and watched as it quickly made its way towards the wild Pokémon. Rattata turned its head and saw that the Pokeball was heading towards it, but it wasn't able to react to it in time. Because of that, the Pokeball hit the Mouse Pokémon and proceeded to open up upon ricocheting off of its body. This caused Rattata to transform into pure red energy that went on to fly into the Pokeball before it close again. Once it was closed shut, the Pokeball hit the ground and started to wiggle around as a red light started to flicker on the middle of the ball.

"YES!" Ryan yelled at the top of his lungs. "I did it, I caught Rattata!"

As he started dancing around like a little boy who just got what he wanted for his birthday, Ryan failed to pay attention to the Pokeball. It was still wiggling around while the red light was still flashing on and off in the middle. After a few seconds of this, a loud noise erupted from the ball as it opened up and released a beam of blue and white light. Ryan heard this and both he and Charmander looked on as they watched the light fall towards the ground.

In a matter of a few seconds, the light began to change shape and soon transformed into Rattata. The Mouse Pokémon was extremely upset that it was interrupted while it was searching for food. Because of that, it hissed at Ryan before running towards him and tackling him in the stomach. The force of the blow caused him to fall to the ground and hold on to his belly.

As he recovered from the pain, Rattata prepared itself to tackle Ryan one more time. However, before it was able to do so, Charmander intervened and got in front of its Trainer. The Fire-Type Pokémon then proceeded to launch a large barrage of tiny fireballs from its mouth. The attack landed near Rattata's feet, causing it to be frightened and run away in fear. By the time it out of sight, Ryan had recovered from its attack and slowly got back on his feet.

"Ouch," He said in a grunted tone. "So that's what a Tackle attack is like. It's much more powerful than I expected."

Still feeling sore from Rattata's tackle, Ryan held on to his stomach for a while. As he did that, Charmander looked towards him with a concerned look on its face and proceeded to make its way towards him. When he saw the expression that his Pokémon was wearing, a small smile appeared on Ryan's face. He then gently took one of hands and gently rubbed the top of his Pokémon's head.

"Don't be upset Charmander," He assured. "It's all my fault for not paying attention to Rattata when it got out of the Pokeball. I just need to be more careful next time."

Ryan's word comforted Charmander a little, but it still felt bad for him. This only caused its Trainer to rub its head one more time before making his way towards the Pokeball that he used to try and catch Rattata. He then examined it for a few moments before pressing the button in the middle, returning it to its shrunken form.

"I don't get it," He thought. "What happened? Professor Oak said that these Pokeballs can be used to capture wild Pokémon. So why didn't it work?"

While he began to ponder this, Ryan placed the empty Pokeball back onto his belt buckle and soon made his way back towards Charmander. He then looked around the horizon and noticed a fairly large tree that wasn't too far away. Needing a place to rest after what just happened, Ryan pointed his finger towards tree.

"Charmander," He called. "Let's head over there. We've been walking around for quite a while now and that seems to be a good place to rest and have some lunch."

Charmander nodded his head in agreement and proceeded to walk with Ryan as the two of them made their way towards the tree. Once they reached it, the both of them sat down in the shade and Ryan went on to take off his backpack. Upon opening it up, Ryan took out some Pokémon Food that his mother prepared for his Pokémon as well as a rice ball for himself. He then placed the Pokémon Food into a small bowl and presented it to Charmander. When it took the time to smell and examine it, the Fire-Type Pokémon smiled and proceeded to eat.

As it did that, Ryan was paying close attention to his Starter Pokémon. Having seen it defend him against Rattata, the young man was impressed with Charmander's power and it only confirmed that he made the right choice by starter off with it. However, despite the strength that Charmander displayed during that confrontation, Ryan realized that he hardly knew anything about his Pokémon. All that he really did know is that it was a Fire-Type Pokémon and that its final evolutionary form is Charizard. Aside from that, Ryan didn't know much about Charmander. Fortunately him though, he had the means to find that information.

Placing his food to the side, Ryan went back into his pocket and pulled out his Pokedex again. He then proceeded to open it and watched as its display screen cut on and revealed a picture of Charmander. Once that happened, Dexter started to talk once again.

"_Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon," _It explained. _"The flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of its emotion. If happy, Charmander's flame will burn vigorously. If enraged, the flame burns viciously. It is said that a Charmander dies if the flame on the tip of its tail ever goes out."_

After Dexter finished its explanation, Ryan closed it back up and placed it beside him. He then looked back towards Charmander and saw that it was still eating its Pokémon Food. He then went on and looked towards its tail and saw that its flame was burning brightly. The sight of that brought a smile on his face as it meant that his Pokémon was both very healthy and happy.

"Charmander," He thought quietly to himself. "Even thought we just met yesterday, I can tell that there's an enormous power lying deep within you. With that power in hand, you have the potential to become one of the most powerful Pokémon to ever walk the earth. Even though I have a lot to learn about raising and training Pokémon, I promise you that I'll help guide you in the use of your powers. We'll get stronger; you, me, as well as the other Pokémon that we'll catch during our Journey. As long as we're together, there's nothing that we can't do."

As the smile that was on his face slowly became bigger, Ryan took his hand and once again pet the top of Charmander's head. This caused to Lizard Pokémon to stop eating for a moment and smile at its Trainer. During this moment between the two new friends, both Ryan and Charmander failed to notice that something heading towards them. The creature was staring directly at the rice ball that Ryan placed down on the ground and it made its intent to take it. With that, it quickly rushed over and snatched the treat before Ryan and Charmander had a chance to figure what just happened.

"What the…?" Ryan questioned. "What the hell was that?"

The young man looked around the immediate area in order see what just flew past him and Charmander. However, all that he could see was grass and that the path that leads to Viridian City. He then started to wonder whether or not he just imagined something moving past him.

Eventually, as he continued to look around, Charmander looked up and saw the creature that was eating Ryan's rice ball. The Lizard Pokémon then alerted its Trainer and proceeded to point towards one the tree's branches. When Ryan looked towards the branch that his Pokémon was pointing too, his eyes widen a little as he recognized the appearance of the creature. It was a small, plump-bodied, bird with brown and light feathers. It had black markings around its eyes as well as pink colored talons and a beak.

"Hey," He said as he continued to watch the bird devour his lunch. "It's a Pidgey!"

Interested in the Pokémon, Ryan quickly opened his Pokedex back up so that it could examine Pidgey. When he did that, an image of the Flying-Type Pokémon appeared on the display screen as Dexter started talking.

"_Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon," _It explained. _"Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It's capable of returning home to its next, no matter how far it is from its familiar surroundings."_

After closing Dexter back up, Ryan continued to examine Pidgey and remembered that they were a very common Pokémon. Almost every day, he would usually see a flock of them flying above Pallet Town. He very felt envious of them because they had the ability to fly around wherever they wanted too and he didn't. Seeing them do that always increased his desire to one day leave his hometown so that he could freely travel around the world freely, like them. Because of that, Ryan decided that if he ever became a Pokémon Trainer a Pidgey would one of the first Pokémon that he captures.

With his heart set on catching the Pidgey that was still continuing to eat his food, Ryan prepared himself to grab another Pokeball from his pocket. However, before he did, the young man remembered his failure with Rattata and how it was able to escape. Because of that, Ryan stopped himself and started to ponder what he should do. As he did that, he remembered that he was still holding Dexter and that Professor Oak explained that it would help him with all types of problems.

"Maybe it has the answers," He thought.

Opening the Pokedex back up, Ryan pressed some buttons until he find information about how to capture wild Pokémon. Once he had it, he then pressed one more button and listened closely as Dexter began to explain the process to him.

"_In order to capture a wild Pokémon, you usually have your own Pokémon battle it first. By weakening it before hand, this makes the act of using a Pokeball much easier as the Pokémon won't have the strength to escape it."_

Once the explanation was completed, Ryan closed Dexter back up and placed it back within his pocket. He then looked towards Pidgey again and saw that the Tiny Bird Pokémon was staring at both him and his Charmander. After about a minute of this, Ryan turned his attention towards Charmander who, in response, turned to face him as well.

"Okay Charmander," He said to it. "We'll do exactly what Dexter said and battle that Pidgey. I will be our first time working together so I want you to give it your all."

Charmander nodded its head and proceeded to walked in front of Ryan. As it did that, Pidgey looked at the Fire-Type Pokémon and saw that it was determined to battle it. However, having accomplished on what it wanted to do, Pidgey finished off that last of Ryan's rice ball and got ready to fly away. Seeing that if it did that then he wouldn't be able to capture it, Ryan reacted quickly by having Charmander launch its first attack.

"Here we go!" He said. "Charmander, use Ember!"

Hearing its command, Charmander opened its mouth and released another barrage of fireballs. Upon seeing them, Pidgey attempted to dodge them all and continue on its way to a much safer location. However, before it could get the opportunity to do so, one the fireballs manage hit its back. This caused the Flying-Type Pokémon to lose control and start falling towards the ground. Fortunately for Pidgey, it managed to regain itself at the last moment and used its wings so that it could land on the ground properly.

As he watched the Pokémon catch its breath, Ryan smiled act the fact that his first Pokémon Battle command was a success. Having watched several Battles on TV, he knew how the process work and he was glad that all the time he spent paying attention to them really paid off. He then got himself ready to continue the battle as Pidgey finished catching its breath and turn its attention towards him and Charmander.

"Quick Charmander," He said in response to this. "Before Pidgey has a chance to strike back, use your Scratch attack!"

Charmander nodded its head and quickly ran towards Pidgey, intending to scratch it with its sharp claws. However, before it could even get close, Pidgey avoided the strike by flying just above Charmander. It then rushed over towards it and tackled the Pokémon towards the ground before flying above it again.

"Watch out Charmander!" Ryan informed. "That's Pidgey's Tackle attack!"

Just as Ryan announced to Charmander that it needed to avoid Pidgey's next attack, the Tiny Bird Pokémon was beginning to make its way towards the Fire Pokémon. Fortunately though, Charmander had recovered enough to nearly avoided Pidgey's Tackle by ducking at the last instant. It then got back up to its feet again and was looking directly at Pidgey's back.

"Now!" Ryan said, as he was ready to put an end to the battle. "Finish it off with another Ember!"

Charmander complied with the order and went on to fire another barrage of fireballs from its mouth. They were just about to hit Pidgey, but the Flying-Type Pokémon wasn't about to struck by that attack again. Acting quickly, Pidgey managed to turn itself around and faced all the fireballs. It then flapped it wings, causing a strong gust of wind to come out of them and dissipate all of the fireballs.

Upon seeing this, Ryan was shocked by what just transpired. He knew what Pidgey just did as it used a move called; Gust. Having seen several Flying-Type Pokémon use this technique on TV, the young man was aware on how powerful it was. However, didn't expect that a Pidgey had the strength to blow away all of Charmander's fireballs. Though the sight of that only strengthened his desire to capture Pidgey, Ryan was beginning to wonder just how he was going to go about it, now that Charmander's best move has been countered.

As he thought about this, Pidgey continued on with its attack by turning its attention back towards Charmander. It then flapped its wings again, causing another gust of wind to appear and overwhelm Charmander. The wind was so strong that the Lizard Pokémon was beginning to lose its footing, forcing it to grab hold to the grass in order to keep itself from falling over. Seeing that, Pidgey took the opportunity to stop its attack and make a bee-line towards its opponent. It then tackled Charmander again, causing it to fall down and roll over towards Ryan. Once Charmander was by its Trainer's feet, Pidgey flew back up and prepared itself to strike again.

"Damn it," Ryan cursed to himself. "Pidgey's not only very fast, but it can also use its Gust attack as shield against Charmander's long range attacks. The only way I'm going to win is if I find away to get around that shield and hit Pidgey straight on. But how do I do that?"

Pondering the situation, Ryan examined the area around him in order to find any means of defeating Pidgey. Eventually, after searching for about 30 seconds, the young man noticed something and felt that it could help him win. He wasn't quite sure that it could work, but he knew that he would never know unless he tried. So, after taking a deep breath and turning his hat backwards, Ryan decided to put his plan into action.

"Charmander," Ryan called. "Make your way over towards the tree!"

Charmander opened it eyes after hearing what Ryan wanted it to do and quickly got itself up from the ground. It than ran towards the tree where both it and its Trainer ate at. As it did that, Pidgey was making its way over to it, intending to end the battle with one last Tackle attack. However, just before it could land its move, Charmander had reached the tree and Ryan proceeded to go on with the next stage of his plan.

"Now Charmander," He said. "Fall towards the ground!"

Nodding its head, Charmander quickly dove towards the ground and laid flat on its stomach. By doing this, the Lizard Pokémon managed to avoid Pidgey's Tackle at the last moment, saving from harm. It then looked on as the Tiny Bird Pokémon attempted to straighten up and make its way over towards its opponent. However, the momentum of diving towards Charmander caused Pidgey to move so fast that it wasn't able to stop under its own power. Because of that, it slammed hard into the tree and fell to the ground.

When Ryan saw this, the young man smiled to himself as he was happy that his plan was a success. By tricking Pidgey into chasing Charmander, the Tiny Bird Pokémon didn't think to use Gust to stop it from moving. Also, by having Charmander dodge at the last second, Pidgey wasn't able to avoid the tree and ended up hurting itself in the process.

Ryan was about to celebrate his accomplishment, but he soon noticed that Pidgey was slowly making its way back up so that it could continue the battle. The sight of that caused him to remember how things went with Pidgey and he knew that he needed to end this battle now before things changed for the worse. So, after clinching his fist and pointing it towards the Flying-Type Pokémon, Ryan prepared himself to launch the final attack of the battle.

"Let's try this again! Charmander, finish this up with Ember!"

Once again, Charmander complied with Ryan's order and fired one last barrage of fireballs towards Pidgey. The Pokémon attempted to fly up so that it could avoid the attack, but it was too weak to do so. This resulted in Pidgey being blast by the fireballs, causing it to fall back down towards the ground and faint.

With the Pokémon now immobile, Ryan quickly pulled out the empty Pokeball that he used on Rattata and enlarged it by pressing the button in the middle of it. He then grasped it firmly in his hand and took aim before eventually throwing it.

"Go Pokeball!"

At great speed, the Pokeball swiftly made its way over to the unconscious Pidgey and soon found itself landing on its stomach. When that happened, the ball opened up and proceeded to convert the Flying-Type Pokémon into a red light energy. The energy then flew inside the Pokeball and Ryan watched as it closed back up and began wiggling on the ground while the button in the middle began to flicker.

As he continued to look on a cold sweat began to cover his face. Having never caught a Pokémon before, Ryan was nervous on what the outcome might be. Would he actually capture Pidgey or would it escape from the Pokeball? In the end, the young man didn't know what was going to happen and thinking about only caused him to feel more stressed out. All he could do was wait and hope that his and Charmander's efforts would pay off.

Eventually, after about a minute of waiting and watching, something happened. The closed Pokeball released a sparkle of stars as it stopped moving and the button in the middle ceased flickering. Ryan wasn't sure on what to make of this and thus he decided to stand and wait for a little while longer. While he waited, Charmander made its way over to the ball and began to shake it back and forth. After doing that, and seeing that nothing happened as a result, the Lizard Pokémon looked back over towards its Trainer and called him over to it.

Ryan complied with his Pokémon's request and quickly reached its location. He then gently petted his head again before picking up the Pokeball that contained Pidgey and started shaking it like Charmander did. After a few seconds, the young man stopped and looked at the Pokeball, his eyes widening at the realization of what he just did. Soon, a huge smile appeared on his face.

"I did it," He said to himself. "I really did it. I caught my first Pokémon!"

Excited by his accomplishment, Ryan started running around the grassy plains like a child who has just received the gift that he's always wanted. As he did that, Charmander was simply looking on at its Trainer while it was catching its breath. The Lizard Pokémon was happy that Ryan was able to accomplishment what he wanted to do and, in all honesty, probably would have joined him if it wasn't so tired.

Eventually, Charmander sat itself on the ground as it was too tired to keep standing up. Ryan heard the thump of Charmander's body hitting the ground and quickly made his over to his Pokémon. He then proceeded to smile at it and pet its head one more time.

"Thank you Charmander," He said happily. "It's all because of you that we have a brand new friend. I can't thank you enough."

Charmander was flattered by Ryan's words and smiled at him as a result. However, the gesture didn't last too long as its fatigue soon kicked back in. Realizing that his Pokémon was more tired than what he originally thought, Ryan grabbed his backpack and searched for something that he could help it. He soon came across a Potion, a special type of medicine that is used to help treat injured Pokémon. Upon seeing it, he knew right away that it came from his mother as she was the one who initially packed his bag. Grateful to her, Ryan quickly pulled out the Potion and used it to squirt the medicine onto Charmander's body. It took a while for the medicine to take effect, but eventually Charmander started feel much better and began to stand up again.

The sight of seeing his Pokémon feeling better caused the smile on Ryan's face to become even bigger than before. He decided to return it to its Pokeball so that it could get some more rest. Once he did that, the young man then shrunk it and Pidgey's Pokeballs and placed them next to each other on his belt buckle. He then proudly looked at both of them for a few moments before placing the Potion back into his bag and then placing it around his back. Ryan would then look towards the road that leads to Viridian City.

"Well that was fun," He said as he turned his hat back around. "I wonder what will happen next."

With that said, Ryan took a deep breath and soon continued on towards his next destination with his Charmander and a new friend in his Pidgey.

* * *

Viridian City, otherwise known as "The City of Evergreen", is a somewhat small city that's about three times the size of Pallet Town. Its population ranges from 500 citizens to 1000 and is one the first, if not the first, destinations that new Trainers from Pallet Town go to when they begin their Pokémon Journey. It allows them to get use to city life fairy quickly as well as gives them the opportunity to collect some of things that they'll need for their long journey.

The reason why Viridian City is dub "The City of Evergreen" is because it's surrounded by several green trees. The large collection of trees that cover the city gives Viridian a somewhat greenish aura. Also, the fact that Viridian is a variation of the color green only supports the reasoning about the city's name.

It's in this city that a young woman was currently making her way to an unknown destination alongside with a small Pokémon. The girl had shoulder length brown hair, with one of her bangs in front of her ears and another one behind it. She also has cerulean blue eyes and her clothes consisted of a red shirt with blue jeans. Her Pokémon brown fur, a bushy tail with a cream-colored tip, and a large furry collar that's also cream-colored. The Pokémon also has big brown eyes, long pointed ears, and pink paw pads which gives it the appearance of either a fox or a cat.

As the two of them make their way towards their destination, the young woman was currently having a conversation with her Pokémon.

"Eevee," She said. "I wonder what type of job does mom wants us to do. I mean, what type of job requires us to come all the way to Viridian City from Cerulean City? Also, mom said that this job was something that only I could accomplish. I wonder what she meant by that."

As the girl turned her head and looked at the Pokémon that was on her left shoulder, Eevee didn't have an answer to her question. All the cute Pokémon did was look at her with its bright brown eyes. Upon seeing them, the girl gave out a small smile before taking her left hand and brushing the top of Eevee's head.

"Well," She continued. "Whatever it is, I'm just glad to be out and away from home. Even though this journey of ours is going to be rather short, we can use the opportunity to learn more about the Pokémon that roam around here in the Kanto Region."

Eevee smiled after hearing the girl say that as it was glad to be away from home and now traveling around with its Trainer. It then began to gently brush her head, which caused the girl to smile some more and pet its head again as a result. The two of them then continued on their way towards the place that they were headed to.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking around the city, the two of them eventually reached the place that they were searching for. It was a PokeMart, a store which contains all sorts of items that people use for Pokémon. Whether it be Pokeballs, food, or a variety of others thing, the PokeMart is considered to be one of the most valuable places for a Pokémon Trainer to encounter during their Pokémon Journey.

When the girl and her Eevee made their way inside the PokeMart, the two of them took some time to examine everything that store provided. Having walked all the way from Cerulean City to Viridian City, the trip has exhausted nearly all of their supplies. Because of that, the both of them thought that it was a good idea to restock on supplies so that they would have everything they needed for their long trip back home.

Once she had everything that she was looking for, the girl placed all of her items into a bag and soon made her way over to the front counter. She then waited for a few minutes until it was finally her turn to have all her things scanned and registered. After the cashier scanned everything, the girl paid for her items before asking a question.

"Excuse me sir," She said. "My Name is Rachel Moore and I come from Cerulean City. My mother, Serena, had something delivered here a couple of weeks ago and she wanted me to come down and get it."

"Ah," The cashier replied. "I was informed by my boss that someone would be coming here one day to pick that thing up. Let me get it for you right now."

With that, the cashier stopped what he was doing and quickly made his way towards the back of the PokeMart. He then looked around the area for the item that Rachel requested and he soon came across a box that had the name Moore on the top. The cashier smiled upon seeing it and proceeded to open it up and pull out the item that was inside. Upon returning to the front of the store, he cashier presented the item to Rachel and the young woman and her Eevee looked on to see what it was.

"Oh my God," Rachel said in a surprised tone of voice. "It's a Pokémon Egg."

A Pokémon Egg, as its name suggests, is an egg that carries an unborn Pokémon. While most of them are usually kept in the care of the Pokémon who helped produce it, some Pokémon Eggs are brought into the care of Pokémon Breeders so that they can properly take care of them until they hatch. When that happens, the Breeders go on to take care of the newly hatched Pokémon for a couple of days before eventually releasing them into the wild.

Rachel, whose mother is a Pokémon Breeder, has seen many Pokémon Eggs in her time and has had the privilege of being one the few individuals to have actually seeing a Pokémon hatch from them. However, never in her life has she's seen an egg with the type of designs that she was looking at. It was a white egg with blue and red squares all over its shell. Rachel wondered why her mother would order for such an unfamiliar egg or why she wanted sent to Viridian City instead of Cerulean. However, she just put that thought to side for now and proceeded to take the egg from the cashier.

"Thank you for taking care of it sir," She said.

"Don't mention it," The cashier replied. "Have a safe trip back home."

Rachel smiled at the kind man's words and proceeded to bow towards him before leaving with her Eevee and her newly acquired Pokémon Egg. As she walked around the city, she started to wonder what was inside of it. Was it a rare Pokémon from an entirely different region or was it the egg of a Legendary Pokémon, one of the most powerful Pokémon to ever grace the Earth. In the end, the young woman didn't know. All she cared about was taking care of it while she eventually made her way back home.

"Don't worry little one," She said with a small smile on her face. "I promise to take great care of you. In fact, on the day that you finally hatch from your egg, I hope that the two of us can eventually become very close friends. Just as close as me and Eevee."

With the thought of becoming friends with the unknown Pokémon racing through her mind, the smile that was Rachel's slowly became bigger as both she and Eevee continued on her way. All the while, the two of them failed to notice that 3 individuals were looking at them. All of whom had sinister smiles on their faces.

* * *

_**Chapter Preview**_

_As Rachel prepares to make her way back home to Cerulean with her Eevee and a unknown Pokémon Egg, she is soon confronted by some thugs who want the egg from themselves. Can she hope to defeat them and protect the egg or will she need some unexpected help._

_Meanwhile, Ryan soon discovers one of his goals that he wants to accomplish for his first Pokémon Journey._

_Next Time, Chapter 3: The Pokémon League. _


	3. Chapter 3

Trials to Becoming a Master

Fanfiction by- Spirit Reader

Pokémon original creator- Satoshi Tajiri

**Chapter 3: **_The Pokémon League_

* * *

"I wonder what type of Pokémon is inside of this egg. I don't recognize the markings that are on it."

After coming all the way from Cerulean City to pick up a Pokémon Egg for her mother, young 16-year-old Rachel Moore and her trusty Pokémon friend Eevee are currently making their way through the small city of Viridian. As they walked around, the two of them were taking the time to examine the egg that they received from the shop. Rachel seemed the most interested in it as this was the first time that she's seen an egg of this design before. It had a white background with blue and red shapes on it. She tried thinking about a Pokémon that had such a design on their body, but not one came to mind. Such a thing would confuse an ordinary person, but not Rachel. For her, the fact that she didn't know anything about the egg only made it more interesting to her.

"Maybe a Pokémon from a different region could be inside of here," She thought quietly to herself. "Or maybe it's the egg of a Legendary Pokémon. What do you think Eevee?"

Rachel turned her head towards her shoulder and looked upon her Eevee. The small Pokémon was also confused by the egg so it didn't really have an answer for its master. As a result, it proceeded to shake its head in confusion. Rachel nodded her head at this as she understood her Pokémon's confusion. She then turned her attention back towards the egg and began to examine it more closely.

"Well…whatever it is, I hope it hatches before we get back home. That'll help me learn more about the hatching patterns of different Pokémon Eggs."

Even though most of the Pokémon in the world come from eggs, not all of them hatch the same way. Some of them may hatch if you keep it warm and safe while others may hatch due to their environment. In the end, there are still a lot of things that people still don't know about Pokémon. It's like every time they solve one question, 5 more take their place. That type of thing makes it hard for Pokémon Researchers or Breeders to learn about these amazing creatures that inhabit our world. However, at the same time, it also makes it more exciting at the same time.

Because people still don't know much about Pokémon, it makes the process of learning about them even more enjoyable. There are over 700 different type of Pokémon in our world and with each new one that's discovered, new ways to take care of them are found as well. Rachel was also interested in that type of thing as she always found more enjoyment in taking care of Pokémon than she did in having them battle. Granted, that didn't mean she disliked Pokémon Battles. It just meant she desired to learn more about Pokémon in a more passive way.

"Alright," Rachel said to herself. "I guess I better make my way to the Pokémon Center. If there's anyone who'll know more about this egg and what type of condition it's in, it's Nurse Joy."

With her next destination now in place, Rachel proceeded to make her way over towards the Pokémon Center alongside her new egg and Eevee. As she walked along the side of the road, a group of 3 thugs followed her. The three of them noticed her coming out of the shop with the egg in her hands and they were also intrigued by its designed. In fact, they were so intrigued by it that they decided that Rachel wasn't worthy of having it. So, as Rachel continued to walk along the road, the thugs made sure to keep her in their sights while being careful that she doesn't notice that their following her.

Unfortunately for them, Rachel did happen to notice that she was being followed. However, she didn't realize it right away. It was actually her Eevee that gave her the heads up on the situation that she was in. All Pokémon are like animals and as a result, their senses are much sharper than that of a human. Eevee picked up some strange snickering once it came out of the shop with Rachel and noticed that three unfamiliar scents were following them as well. As the result, the small Pokémon alerted Rachel on what it picked up. Once Rachel got Eevee's message, the young woman discreetly raised her arms up into the air as if she was yawning. In actuality, she was observing what was going around her and noticed the thugs that making their way to where she was. This prompted Rachel to continue on her course for a few more minutes before eventually making a sharp right turn into a nearby alley.

The thugs were surprised when they saw Rachel turn into the alley as they thought that she was going to the Pokémon Center. By going the way she went, there was a very good chance that she could end up being lost. However, maybe that wouldn't be the case? The three of them don't know Rachel so there's a possibility that she may know a shortcut to the Pokémon Center through those alleyways. If that was the case, then they couldn't just gradually follow her any more. They had to speed things up and catch her before they lose sight of her. So, without wasting any time, the three thugs quickly ran into the alley in order to find Rachel.

Once they entered the alley, the three thugs started searching high and low for either Rachel, Eevee, or their egg. They looked from the darkest corners to smelliest trash cans, but still couldn't find anything. The three of them were on the verge of giving up, but one of them soon discovered something on their way out.

"Hey guys," One of the thugs called. "Look over there."

One of the thugs pointed his hand towards the object that he was looking at. When the other two turned their heads to where he was pointing, the three of them saw the egg that Rachel was carrying. It was just sitting there by one of the garbage bins.

"What's going on?" One of them questioned. "Did she drop it while she was walking through here?"

"Or maybe she left it there on purpose," Another one thought. "Maybe she knew that we were after her egg and decided to leave it before anything bad happened to her."

"Who know…but it doesn't really matter in the end," The third one pointed out. "All that does matter is that we got what we came for."

With the object of their interest now in hand, the thugs prepared to grab it and take it with them to their hideout. However, unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them from the shadows. This individual has had his eyes on the three of them ever since they entered the alley, making sure they didn't leave his sight. Once he saw that the thugs were about to grab the egg, the individual pointed his finger towards them.

"Now Eevee," The person called. "Use your Shadow Ball attack!"

From the shadows, Eevee appeared and started channeling energy from within its body. The thugs noticed the arrival of the small fox-shaped Pokémon and immediately stopped what they were doing. They then watched as a small ball of dark energy started to form around Eevee's mouth, which gradually grew bigger by the second. Eventually, Eevee had gather enough energy and proceeded to fire the blast towards its intended targets. Upon seeing the energy coming towards them, the thugs quickly jumped out of the way and watched as they attack strike the garbage bins. The force of the attack created an explosion that blew the egg towards the shadows. Fortunately, the individual caught just before it hit the ground and when he came out of the darkness the thugs were shocked to see that it was Rachel.

"Well that was interesting," She said snickering to herself. "I'm glad my plan worked out the way it did."

The thugs were slightly upset that Rachel tricked them they way she did. By pretending she left the egg behind and hiding herself within the shadows, she gave all of them a false sense of security. If it wasn't for the fact that they saw Eevee's attack coming, all three of them knew that they could've been seriously injured. The thought of that prompted two of the thugs to try and attack the young woman, but the third one calmed them down before that happened. He then got up, slapped the dirt from off his pants and began to make his way towards Rachel.

"That was indeed a nice strategy you set up there," He said with a small smile on his face. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Takeshi and my two friends behind me are Butch and Johnny. On the behest of all of us, please accept our most sincere apologies. We should have come to you up front for our needs."

"…My name is Rachel," The young woman replied. "And I'm going to assume that the 'needs' that you're talking about is my Pokémon Egg, right?"

"That's correct," Takeshi confirmed. "You see, my friends and I have captured and raised a large assortment of Pokémon over the years, but never have we seen a Pokémon Egg such as the one you have right now. It's our belief that we can the Pokémon in that egg far than you or anyone else for that matter. So, here's my proposal. You hand over that egg and in return…I promise that my friends and I will make it worth your while."

After listening to what Takeshi had to say, Rachel closed her eyes for a moment and started thinking to herself. As she did her Eevee turned its head towards her and saw that she was holding the egg very close to her heart. Once she finished thinking, Rachel placed the egg behind her before turning back towards Takeshi and the others, glaring at them with a large amount of intensity.

"Here's my answer to your proposal," Rachel said firmly. "…No."

"I see," Takeshi said, closing his eyes for a moment. "Then you leave us no choice. Johnny…, retrieve the egg."

Johnny nodded his head in compliance and began to make his way over to Rachel. As he did, the young man noticed that her Eevee stood ready to protect her from harm. To that end, Johnny realized that he was going to need it before getting to his target. So, to accomplish that task, he quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and pressed the button in the middle of it in order to make it bigger. Once that happened, Johnny threw the Pokeball towards the ground.

"Rattata, I choose you!" He shouted.

As the Pokeball hit the ground, it opened and released a powerful blast of white colored energy. The energy soon began to change its shape and transform itself into a Rattata that seemed well trained and ready for battle. Once it saw Johnny Rattata, Rachel's Eevee stepped forward and prepared itself for battle. With that, Rachel didn't waste any time and proceeded to make the first move in this Pokémon Battle.

"Eevee, use Quick Attack!" She ordered.

"Rattata, counter it with your Quick Attack!"

Both Pokémon nodded their heads and quickly ran towards one at a lightning fast speed. Eventually, the two of them collided into one another, trying their best to overpower the other. However, despite their best attempts, they weren't able to do so and ended up knocking each other back. Fortunately, they were both able to get right back up and begin charging at one another again.

"Rattata," Johnny called. "Time to use your Hyper Fang!"

Rattata understood what its Trainer wanted it to do and quickly opened its mouth wide as a result. Once it did that, the Mouse Pokémon started gathering energy into the point of its front teeth. As the energy continued to gather together in one location, Rattata's teeth started to glow and extend all the way towards the end of its mouth. When Rachel saw that she knew that Eevee would be in real trouble if that attack hit it. She couldn't let that happen and decided to block that attack with a move of equal to greater strength.

"Eevee," She said. "Block it with Iron Tail!"

With Rattata coming closer and closer to it, Eevee acted quickly and started gathering power into its large and fluffy tail. This caused it to glow brightly and harden like a piece of iron. Once that happened, Eevee then slammed its tail into Rattata before it had the chance to execute its attack. Also, the sheer force of the blow was so intense that it not only sent Rattata flying towards Johnny, but also caused its teeth to return to their normal size.

"Now Eevee," Rachel continued. "Finish it up by using Swift!"

Once again, Eevee nodded its head in compliance to Rachel's orders and opened its mouth once more. However, instead of firing an orb of dark energy, the small Pokémon release a large barrage of yellow energy stars from its mouth. The stars made their way over to Rattata, striking the Mouse Pokémon's body in all areas. When the assault finally ended, Johnny watched as his Pokémon landed by is feet, fainted and unable to battle. This caused him to grit his teeth in frustration

"Rattata," He said. "Return now."

A bright of red energy shot from Johnny's Pokeball and hit his Rattata. This caused the Mouse Pokémon to transform into the same form of red energy and get sucked back inside the ball. When that happened, Johnny shrunk Rattata's Pokeball and placed it back onto his belt.

"Not bad," Takeshi said as he placed one of his hands into his pocket. "However, don't assume that you've won just because beat Johnny. Out of all of us, he's the weakest. Now…let's see how you and your Eevee fare when you're battling both Butch…and myself."

As Takeshi pulled a Pokeball from out of his pocket and enlarged it, Butch went on to grab one from his belt and did that exact same thing. Once the both of them had their Pokeballs in hand, they wasted no time in throwing them high into the air.

"Appear now, Mankey!" Takeshi said.

"Bellsprout, I choose you!" Butch shouted.

As soon as both Trainers shouted the names of their respective Pokémon, both of their Pokeballs opened up and released two blasts of light energy. When that happened, the energy then landed in front of their Trainers and began to change shape into their Pokémon. Butch's Bellsprout had the appearance of large flower with stem-like feet and green leaves for arms. It also had a large bell-shaped head that seem to weigh several times more than its entire body. As for Takeshi's Mankey, it had the appearance of a very aggressive pig-monkey with white messy fur all over its body and curved tail at the end.

Upon seeing the two Pokémon that were in front of her, Rachel braced herself for what was to come. It was bad enough that she was about to have her Eevee battle again, but now it was going to be 2 against 1. She would now have to keep on her toes because not only does have to contend with Bellsprout's Grass-Type attacks, but also Mankey's Fighting-Type attack as well.

"Mankey," Takashi called. "Go and use Low Kick!"

Mankey agreed with Takeshi's suggestion and began to make its way over towards Eevee. Once it got close enough, it extended its left foot out and got ready to knock Rachel's Pokémon down towards the ground. Unfortunately, Rachel and Eevee saw the attack coming a mile away.

"Eevee," Rachel said. "Jump and use Shadow Ball!"

Just as Mankey was about sweep Eevee's feet, the small Pokémon jumped high into the air to avoid the attack. It then started gathering dark energy into mouth again. However, as it was gathering that power, Butch's Bellsprout extended both of its leaves out and released a bright green vine from them. The vines made their way over to Eevee, wrapping up all of its legs. Bellsprout then slammed Eevee towards the ground by pulling on its vine.

Rachel was distressed when saw her Pokémon fall from that height and went on to ask if it was okay. Eevee didn't really respond to the question as it was still reeling from the fall. However it did manage to slowly get back up on its feet.

"After it Mankey!" Takeshi yelled. "Now use Brick Break!"

"You too Bellsprout!" Butch followed. "Use your Vine Whip again!"

Mankey shook its head and began to make its way over to Eevee once more. As it ran towards it, the pig-monkey Pokémon opened it hand out into the form of knife and prepared itself to strike its target.

"Dodge it Eevee!" Rachel said to her partner. "You're weak against Fighting-Type attacks! You can't afford to have that hit you!"

Eevee agreed with Rachel as such an attack would be disastrous for it right now. It attempted to jump back in order to avoid the blow, but soon found itself unable to move. Rachel was surprised by this and wondered what was going on. Soon though, she found out that Bellsprout had once again impaired her Pokémon's movements by summoning the vines from the tip of its leaves. Because of that, she could only watch in horror as Eevee was struck by Mankey's powerful attack, causing it to fall to the ground in a massive amount of pain and agony.

With her Pokémon now struggling on the ground, Rachel tried thinking on what she should do. If she had Eevee attack, Butch would have his Bellsprout stop it with its Vine Attack. Then, with her Pokémon now unable to defend itself, Takeshi could then have his Mankey attack without the fear of having its moves avoided. If this wasn't a 2 on 1 battle, Rachel had no doubt that she would end up the victor. But now, since that wasn't the case, she was beginning to have doubts about her victory.

"I think it's time to end this," Takeshi believed. "Mankey, strike down her Eevee with your Brick Break attack!"

Mankey agreed with Takeshi statement as it was starting to get bored with the battle that it was participating in. So, the Pokémon made its way towards the struggling Eevee. Once it was right in front of it, Mankey opened out its hand once more and prepared to execute one last Brick Break attack. But, just before the attack landed, a large windstorm erupted, knocking Mankey backwards towards the ground. The sudden appearance of the wind confused everyone present and soon discovered that it belonged to a Pidgey that just appeared from out of nowhere.

"Haven't your mothers told to never strike an opponent while they're down?"

Everyone turned their heads towards the direction of the voice that was talking to them. They then saw a young man with messy black hair and blue eyes appear and stand next to the Pidgey that created the windstorm. That young man's name was Ryan Brooks and decided to make himself known to everybody once he saw the battle take an unexpected turn for Rachel and her Eevee.

"I was wondering what was going on when I saw a group of punks follow a young girl into a dark alley so I decided to check things out," He continued. "Though, I never expected things to turn out this way. You punks are nothing but scum, having to double team someone just because things aren't going your way. For me, that's the lowest form of cowardice."

"This doesn't concern you boy!" Butch said in a stern tone of voice. "Get out of here before you or your Pidgey get hurt."

"…Make us," Ryan replied. "That is, if you have the courage to do so."

Hearing Ryan question his courage nearly sent Butch over the edge. Not only did this young man interfere with his battle against Rachel, but he also had the audacity to question him as well. Butch wasn't about to let that pass. He was going to make this little punk pay and that payback would begin right now.

"Bellsprout," He called. "Forget that Eevee and use your Razor Leaf attack on that little bastard and his Pidgey!"

Bellsprout nodded its head in compliance to Butch's orders and began to make its way from Rachel's Eevee. It then turned its attention towards Ryan's Pidgey and began shaking its leaves around. This caused a large barrage of razor sharp leaves to appear and begin to make their way towards their intended target. However, as he watched the leaves make their way towards his newly captured Pokémon, Ryan was instantly reminded of something and decided to use that memory as inspiration for his counter move.

"Pidgey!" He called. "Block that with your Gust attack!"

Upon hearing its Trainer's order, Pidgey didn't waste any time and began flapping its wings very rapidly. The resulting movement of its wings caused another windstorm to appear and intercept the leaves that were approaching it. Butch was shocked when he saw his Bellsprout's attack being blocked, however he instantly got over it and quickly prepared himself to launch his next move.

"Quick Bellsprout," He said, "Use your Vine Whip before it stops its attack!"

Bellsprout nodded its head and began to brace itself once Pidgey directed its Gust attack towards it. In order to prevent itself from falling backwards, the Grass-Type Pokémon summoned one of its vines and wrapped it around one of the nearby garbage bins. Once it was in place, Bellsprout then went on to bring out its second vine and shoot it towards Pidgey. However, because Bellsprout was still being engulfed by the wind, its attack was little bit slower than before. It was because of this reduce speed that Pidgey had the time to stop its attack and avoid the vine before it had the chance to strike it.

"Now Pidgey," Ryan said, prepared to make his next move. "Use Sand Attack to blind Bellsprout!"

Once it heard it next order, Pidgey quickly flew towards the ground while continuing to avoid Bellsprout's attack. As soon as it landed, the Tiny Bird Pokémon started flapping its wings once more. However, instead of producing another windstorm, the force of Pidgey's wings kicked up the sand and dirt that was on the ground. The debris made its way over to Bellsprout eyes which not only blinded it, but also caused it to stop its attack. As soon as Ryan saw that, he decided to take the opportunity to finish the battle before Bellsprout had the chance to recover.

"Let's finish this," He suggested. "Pidgey hit Bellsprout with your strongest Quick Attack!"

Pidgey nodded its head once again and began to climb back up into the air. Once it was at the top of the buildings, Pidgey dove straight down towards its target and prepared to ram its entire body into it. When it connected with its strike, the sheer force of the blow sent Bellsprout flying towards Butch, which caused him to catch his Pokémon before it blew right past him. Once he had it in his arms, Butch looked down and saw that Bellsprout was knocked out cold.

"…How?" He said in disbelief. "How could I lose to him?"

"…Simple," Takeshi answered. "From the moment he sent out his Pidgey, he had an advantage over you. Not only has he been watching your Bellsprout's moves, but I'm guessing he knew that your Pokémon had a type disadvantage over his."

Takeshi turned his head towards Ryan and saw that the young man was busy petting the head of his Pidgey, congratulating it on a job well done. As he looked at them, he began to wonder what his next course of action should be. He could have his Mankey battle Ryan's Pidgey, but there would be no guarantee that he would win. Since Fighting-Type Pokémon are weak against Flying-Types, there would be no doubt that the battle would be tough for him and his Mankey. However, at the same time, he could tell that Ryan hasn't been battling with his Pidgey for very long since it only knew 3 moves. All of those factors made the battle seem even on both sides, but Takeshi didn't know if that was really the case. In the end, the young thug decided that the risk wasn't worth it. He was the type of Trainer who preferred staying away from battles that he didn't know the outcome too.

"Mankey," He said as he pulled out his Pokémon's Pokeball. "Return now."

A red flash of light shot from the middle of Mankey Pokeball, hitting it and turning it into light energy. Once that happened, the Pokémon was sucked back inside of its ball and Takeshi proceeded to shrink it down before placing it back into his pocket. He then went on to turn his back and leave the alley, which his friends following close behind.

"…Hey!" Rachel yelled, trying to grab the attention of the thugs who confronted her. "Where do think your going?!"

"What does it look like," Takeshi answered. "We're leaving. There's no point in fighting a battle in which I'm at a disadvantage. However, don't think that this will be the last time you see us. We'll meet again sooner than you think…so be ready."

Takeshi turned his head around for a moment a looked towards Rachel, who was busy holding both her Eevee and Pokémon Egg. After staring at them for a moment he then turned his focus towards Ryan.

"As for you," He said. "I'll inform our leader what happened here. So watch your back."

With that said, Takeshi and the others left the alley and went on towards a destination that only they knew of. As he watched them leave, Ryan gently let out a sigh of relief. Even though he just won his first Pokémon Battle, the young man believed that it was a hollow victory at best. Not only did he have to watch Rachel's battle against Butch in order learn what moves Bellsprout could use, but he knew that if Takeshi interfered in the battle, there was a great chance that he would have lost. Also, Ryan didn't know how experience Takeshi was as a Trainer, so there was a chance that he could have his Mankey deal with Pidgey even though it can't fly. Because of all that, Ryan felt happy and bad about the whole thing. He was glad that he was able to help Rachel fend off her attackers, but he also felt worried about what could happen next when Takeshi and the others return.

As he continued to ponder this, Rachel started petting the stop of Eevee's head, hoping to get a reaction from her Pokémon. Eventually, she watched as her Pokémon slowly lifted its head and licked her face. When she saw that, Rachel smiled as she was happy that her partner wasn't as hurt as she initially thought. However, even though Eevee was too critically injured, it didn't change the fact that its injuries did needed to be treated. So, until the time came when that treatment takes place, Rachel decided that it would be best for Eevee to get some rest. With that, Rachel pulled out a Pokeball from out of her pocket, expanded it, and pointed it towards her partner.

"Eevee return," She said.

A red beam of light shot from the Pokeball, hitting Eevee and converting it into light energy. When that happened, the energy was sucked back into the Pokeball. Once Eevee was inside, Rachel shrunk the ball and placed it back into her pocket. She then went on to grab her egg, before turning attention Ryan.

"Hey," She said, trying to grab his attention. "Thank you…for helping me when you did."

"Don't mention it," Ryan said, turning around to face the young woman. "I can't stand thugs, so it felt good to put one of them in their place. Anyway, are you okay? I saw that your Eevee was having a tough time."

"…I'm okay," Rachel answered. "And so will Eevee…once I take it to the Pokémon Center. It's not too far from here."

"I see," Ryan said. "Then at least let me take you there. We don't know when those guys will be back. Even though I just started being a Pokémon Trainer, I know that it's best to stick together when facing opposition of greater numbers."

Rachel looked at Ryan for a moment as she thought about his proposal. The thugs were after her Pokémon Egg, which in turn made her their target. If Ryan stuck with her, there's no doubt that they would come after them too. This especially true now that he defeated one of them. However, Rachel also knew that she couldn't defeat them all by herself. If she was going to drive them away permanently, she was going to need some help. And even though Ryan said that he was a rookie Trainer, Rachel saw that he had a large of amount of potential in him.

"Alright," She said. "But only until I leave Viridian City. Once I leave here, I can lose them in the nearby forest."

"Okay," Ryan replied with a small smile on his face. He then extended his hand out to her. "By the way, it's nice to meet you. My name is Ryan Brooks, a Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town."

"Same here," Rachel said. "My name is Rachel Moore and I'm from Cerulean City."

* * *

In an abandoned building on the other side of the city, Takeshi and the others were busy talking to someone. Because the building that they were in was dark, the three of them had a hard time trying to see the person's face. However, because of the frightened facial expressions that was on both Butch's and Johnny's faces, it was pretty obvious that the three of them had a tremendous amount of fear and respect towards the person who they were speaking too.

"…So let me get this straight," The individual said. "The three of you found a rare Pokémon Egg that you should've been able to retrieve very easily. However, not only did you not retrieve the egg, but you were also force to retreat."

"But…sir," Johnny stuttered. "The girl who had the egg was strong and she also had help."

"Yeah…," Butch said in agreement. "Not only that, but Takeshi left without facing the other guy!"

Just as Butch finished making his point, a large blast of water shot from the shadows where the mysterious individual was it. The force of the water knocked both Butch and Johnny towards the ground, shutting them up in the process. As the two of them recovered from that attack, the person continued talking.

"You speak when I tell you too," He said sternly. "Takeshi…you better explain yourself. From what you told me, the only Pokémon that other guy had was a Pidgey. Even if your Mankey is weak against Flying-Type attacks, you have other Pokémon that can take care of it."

"I know leader," Takeshi calmly agreed. "However…there was a chance that the person also had another Pokémon. I saw it has an unnecessary risk. Besides…from what I told you about the person's description, I felt it best that you should see to him personally. After all, I believe you two know each other anyway."

The person kept quiet for a moment as he thought about what Takeshi just said to him. Once he finished thinking about it, another blast of water shot from the shadows. However, the attack didn't hit Takeshi, but instead struck the window that was beside him. The power of the water blast broke the glass, causing it to fall on the ground beside his feet.

"You don't know what's best for me Takeshi," The leader responded. "So don't assume that you do."

"Of course," Takeshi replied, bowing slightly.

"…However," The leader continued. "You are right that I do know that person. I always had a feeling that he would leave Pallet Town to become a Trainer. It's ironic; the day he comes here is the day I leave to begin my quest to win Pokémon League Competition. Oh well…before I go, I think it's best I visit my old friend. It's been nearly a year since I last saw him."

After speaking those words, the leader came out of the shadows and started walking towards the light side of the building. Once he was out, it was revealed that he was a young man with dark purple hair and blue grey eyes. His attire consisted of a dark purple jacket over a maroon shirt and dark blue pants with white, green-gem shoes. Beside him was a young, but very strong looking Squirtle, who had a similar scowl like the one its Trainer had.

"Watch out Ryan Brooks," He said to himself. "Because Reginald 'Shark' Kastle is coming for you and I intend to make you shiver with fear!"

Once Shark made his intentions clear, the young man proceeded to return his Squirtle to its Pokeball before leaving the building that he was in. As they watched their leader leave, Johnny and Butch were hesitant to follow. Since the day that first met them, the two of them were deathly afraid of Shark. Not only was he a strong Pokémon Trainer, but his strength was only matched by his ruthlessness. Just being around him scared the living crap of them and it made them question why they even follow him in the first place. However, like always, the answer came pretty quickly to them; it was his strength.

So, not wanting to be left behind, both Johnny and Butch left the building and followed after their leader, albeit a good distance away. That just left Takeshi as the only one still in there. The young man followed Shark for the same reasons as Johnny and Butch, as he admired his skill and strength. However, it ran deeper than that. Before Shark came along, Takeshi was the one who lead Johnny and Butch throughout Viridian City. Under his leadership, the three of them were able to hold their hold against the gangs that resided in the city. But, once Shark came along and took leadership of their gang, Takeshi realized that his new leader could bring them places much farther than he ever thought possible. As a result, Takeshi decided to simply follow Shark instead of trying to win back his leadership position as he felt that Shark's destination was on the same path as his. So, with that, the young man soon left the building and followed his teammates.

As that was happening, Ryan and Rachel were continuing on their way to the Pokémon Center. While they walked, Ryan took the opportunity to check out all the sights that Viridian City had to offer. Even though his mother brought him here from time to time, they would never follow fully explore the city. However, now that he was a Pokémon Trainer, the young man realized that now he had the chance to do so. The thought of that made him really happy as he always wanted to travel and see different places and now he has the opportunity to do so. Rachel noticed the looked on Ryan's face and softly smiled as a result. She found it amusing seeing the innocent look on his face as it reminded her of how she acted when she was little. Back then, she would always get excited when it came to either seeing a new thing or coming to a new place. However, now that she's older, Rachel was now more calm and composed and she didn't let her happiness over new things surface in order to avoid potential embarrassment. Still, despite that, she was also impressed with some of the sights of Viridian City.

Eventually, after walking around for about an hour, both Ryan and Rachel finally made it to their destination; the Pokémon Center. It was a fairy large building that was around the size of a small hospital. It had a red and white color scheme to it as well as a giant Pokeball sign right in the front of the building. However, the most notable thing about the Pokémon Center that Ryan saw is that several Trainers and their Pokémon are coming and going as they please.

"Wow," The young man said to himself. "This place must be a popular spot for Trainers."

"Of course," Rachel pointed out. "Pokémon Centers are essential to Trainers as this is the place where they get their Pokémon healed. For your going to become a Pokémon Trainer, it's important that you know these things."

"…Oh," Ryan replied. "Well…Pallet Town doesn't have a Pokémon Center so I never knew. Still, this place is pretty neat. I wonder what's on the inside."

"Well, let's go inside and find out," Rachel suggested.

Ryan nodded his head in agreement and soon walked inside the Pokémon Center with Rachel following close behind. Once they were inside the building, the two of them looked on and watched as several different Trainers and their Pokémon were busy interacting with each other. Some of them were busy discussing the latest news while others talked about the type of battles that they've been in. Seeing all that, as well as some other things, made Ryan really happy as it meant that he was officially living his dream.

While Ryan continued to examine the area, Rachel made her way over to the Center's front desk and waited from someone to show up. Eventually, a beautiful nurse with bright pink hair and blue eyes approached Rachel and greeted her with a warm smile.

"Why hello," She said. "My name is Nurse Joy. How may I help you today?"

"Nice to meet you Nurse Joy," Rachel replied as she placed her egg on the counter. After placing it there, she then went on to grab Eevee's Pokeball and placed it on the counter as well. "Can you please tend to my Eevee? It got hurt in a battle earlier today and I want to make sure it's okay. Then, if you're not too busy, can you also check out this egg?"

"It would be my pleasure," Nurse Joy kindly answered. "As you know, I'm always willing to handle any of your Pokémon that need treatment. Just leave them with me and I'll make sure they're taken care of."

Rachel nodded her head and handed both Eevee's Pokeball and her Pokémon Egg over to Nurse Joy. Once she had them in hand, the kind Nurse smiled at Rachel one more time before heading into the backroom. As she watched her leave, Rachel turned herself around and began looking around the Pokémon Center for a few minutes. While she looked, she saw Ryan looking at a poster that was on the wall and decided to check out what he was looking at. Once she reached him, Rachel started to read the poster.

_Attention Trainers. Is it your dream to become the best? Do you want people to remember your name throughout the ages? Then come on out and compete in the annual Pokémon League Competition! It is here that Trainers from all over compete together with their Pokémon as they try to prove themselves worthy of becoming Pokémon Masters!_

Once she finished reading the poster, Rachel dismissed it as it wasn't something that she was interested in. She was about to leave, but soon noticed that Ryan had a huge smile on his face. He then went on to clinch both of his fists in excitement.

"Alright," He said to himself. "This is exactly the type of thing that I've been looking for."

"It is?" Rachel questioned.

"Of course!" Ryan replied, turning to face her. "I've always wanted to become a Pokémon Master and this tournament is a good way to make that happen. So look out Pokémon League because Ryan Brooks is coming to get you!"

* * *

_**Chapter Preview**_

_With a goal now in place, Ryan is determine to compete the Pokémon League. However, Rachel soon informs him that entering the League isn't all that simple. Then later, Shark and his friends reappear in front of the two of them. Just what is the relationship between Shark and Ryan and how it will affect things moving forward?_

_Next Time, Chapter 4: The Rivalry_

* * *

_**Announcements**_

**Spirit Reader: **_Hey guys, it's Spirit Reader with a few announcements. _

_First off, I want to apologize for the long update. I got distracted by a lot of things, like my other story, and it eventually came to the point that I lost inspiration for this story. However, with a support of some devoted readers, I got the motivation to continue this story and plan on seeing through. So please look forward to more chapters of Trials of Becoming a Master in the days to come. _

_Also, if you like, please feel free to take a look at my other story; Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Over the Nexus. It's already on its third story arc and things are getting interesting. _

_Anyway guys, that's it for now. Thank you for checking out this chapter and please feel free to leave a review. You comments help build this story into something better. Until Next Time, this is Spirit Reader signing off!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Trials to Becoming a Master**

Fanfiction by- **Spirit Reader**

Pokémon original creator- **Satoshi Tajiri**

**Chapter 4: **_The Rivalry_

* * *

The Pokémon League; it's considered to be the biggest competition that the Kanto Region has ever come up with. For over 100 years, Trainers and their Pokémon have traveled all over the world, preparing themselves for this event. They've trained their bodies, minds, and souls to the point of exhaustion in order to make sure their stronger than their respective opponents. It's said that the one Trainer who can win this amazing tournament is not only the best Trainer in all of Kanto, but also destined to one day become a Pokémon Master. Such an achievement is the goal for many different Pokémon Trainers, but none so more than the young Ryan Brooks.

Having just started his Journey today and recently fought in his first battle, Ryan was more than motivated to compete in the Pokémon League. For as long as he could remember, the young man from Pallet Town has always dreamed of one day becoming a Pokémon Master and being considered the best Trainer in the world. By winning this tournament, Ryan knew that would a good step in the right direction. However, despite being motivated to have him and his Pokémon compete in the competition, Ryan was neglecting to notice one important fact.

"Don't assume that you can just get in Pokémon League. You have to meet the standard requirement for it first."

Ryan turned his head towards the person who just said that to him and saw Rachel Moore, the young woman that he helped out earlier. Upon first entering Viridian City, Ryan noticed that a group of thugs were following Rachel into a nearby alley. Not wanting to see an innocent girl get hurt, he proceeded to follow them in order to make sure that she was okay. During that time, he saw the battle that Rachel had with the thugs and proceeded to step in with his recently caught Pidgey when Rachel and her Eevee were at a distinct disadvantage. With his help, the two of them were able to fight off the thugs and have stayed together in order make sure that they don't come back.

Since that incident, both Ryan and Rachel made their way to the Pokémon Center, a place where Trainers can have their Pokémon healed for free. While they waited for Nurse Joy, the one who was in charge of the Center, to finish checking on Eevee and Rachel's Pokémon Egg, Ryan noticed to poster that promoting the Pokémon League and became motivated to enter it. But, despite the motivation that had been feeling, Rachel knew that entering the Pokémon League was easier said than done.

"First off," She continued. "How Pokémon do you have on you? The rules say that you at least need to own 6."

Ryan looked down towards his belt buckle and saw two Pokeballs clipped to it. One of them contained his Charmander while the other contained his Pidgey. With them together, the total number of Pokémon that he had on his person was 2. If he wanted to enter the Pokémon League, Ryan would have least need to catch 4 more Pokémon. Something like that didn't seem to be too hard, but Rachel wasn't finished with her explanation.

"Also, even if you catch the number of Pokémon required, you'll need to obtain at least 8 Gym Badges from Gyms all over the Kanto Region."

"What the hell are Gym Badges?" Ryan questioned.

Rachel sighed silently to herself as she couldn't believe that Ryan didn't even know what Gym Badges were. Even if he was a beginning Pokémon Trainer, everybody should at least what Badges are and why there so important. Because he didn't know that, Rachel was finding it very hard to believe that Ryan could enter the Pokémon League, let alone win it. Still, despite the fact that she expected him to know more and that she didn't like explaining things that people should already know, Rachel decided to explain what Gym Badges were to Ryan. She owed him, especially how he went out of his way to help her.

"Listen very carefully," She said as she placed her hand upon the poster. "Gym Badges are an item that Trainers receive after defeating a Gym Leader, Trainers who run Pokémon Gyms. In order to enter the Pokémon League you'll need to travel around to different towns and cities throughout all of Kanto and challenge Gyms sanctioned by the Pokémon League along the way. Only by defeating at least 8 Gym Leaders and earning their Badges as proof will you'll be allowed to enter the League."

"I see," Ryan said, understanding all that Rachel just explained to him. "I guess enter the Pokémon League really is harder than it looks. Still…I think that's a good thing. If it were that easy to enter the League, then I probably wouldn't want to enter it. If there's one thing that I don't like, it's being handed things. I want to become a Pokémon Master, but I want to earn the title and not just be given it. So I'll travel throughout all of Kanto, challenge 8 Gyms, and win their Badges so that I can enter the Pokémon League!"

"It's still not that easy," Rachel pointed out. "Gym Leaders aren't just any Pokémon Trainers, their highly specialized Trainers who were recommended by the Pokémon League Committee itself. All of them are very strong and they all specialize in one particular type of Pokémon. It's the job the challenger to catch and raise certain Pokémon that can stand up to the Gym Leaders and their Pokémon."

Rachel took off the backpack that she was carrying and proceeded to go inside of it. The young woman was looking for something that brought along with her during her travels, something that's very important to her. Eventually, after about 2 minutes of searching, Rachel found the item that she was looking for and presented to Ryan. When he examined it, Ryan saw that it was tiny badge that was in the shape of a blue raindrop.

"This is a Cascade Badge," Rachel said. "Trainers can only obtain this by defeating Misty, leader of the Cerulean City Gym. She's a master Water-Type Pokémon Trainer so catching Pokémon like Grass or Electric-Types are very important if want to deal with her. If that can't be done then raise the Pokémon that you do have so that they can learn moves that fall into those particular types. So you see, defeating a Gym Leader, earning their Badges, and entering the Pokémon League isn't as easy as you're making out to be. There's a lot of work involved and not anybody can do it."

Ryan examined Rachel's Gym Badges as she continued to talk about the Pokémon League and how tough it is to enter it. He was very impressed by its designed and how smooth it looked. Clearly, whoever made it was a master craftsman. But, despite being impressed by how well the badge looked, Ryan was even more impressed by the knowledge that Rachel had. She was not that much older than he was, but it was clear she knew a lot about the Pokémon League and Pokémon in general. All that knowledge was very interesting to Ryan and it made wonder about something.

"You sure do know a lot Rachel," He said. "You must be a Pokémon Trainer like me. I mean, you know a lot about Pokémon and Gyms. Also you have a Gym Badge, which must mean that you're a strong Trainer. Well, am I right?"

Rachel looked at Ryan for a few seconds before looking down towards her Cascade Badge. Just looking at it caused the young woman to recall something from her past, something that she wasn't particularly fond of. After a minute, Rachel was able to get her head from out of her thoughts and put her Gym Badge back in her bag. Once she did that, she then turned her attention back to Ryan.

"…No," She said. "I'm not a Pokémon Trainer anymore. As of 3 years ago, I'm now a Pokémon Breeder."

"A Pokémon Breeder?" Ryan questioned.

"Yes," Rachel confirmed. "A Pokémon Breeder is someone who focuses less on battling with Pokémon and more on raising them so that they can be happy and healthy. Also, Breeders usually tend to raise Pokémon in order to provide specific improvements for them."

"Improvements?" Ryan said, slightly confused at he heard. "What kind of improvements?"

"All sorts," Rachel said. "Take my Eevee for example. A couple of the moves that it knows are Iron Tail and Shadow Ball. Normally, when you raise an Eevee, they can't learn those moves on their own. However, by specifically tending to my Eevee's strength and applying them in such a way, I can have it know moves that are very unique, especially for its species."

Ryan nodded his head and started to remember when he followed Rachel into the alley earlier today. Before he decided to interfere, he watched carefully at her and Eevee and saw the power that the latter had. Despite being very small, Eevee's speed and unique moves were enough to overpower its opponent before the thugs decided to begin a double team. Ryan saw that if he could apply same things that Rachel did with her Pokémon to his, then there would be no battle that he couldn't win. Still, there was one thing that he wasn't quite getting.

"That's pretty cool," He started off. "Still…why be a Breeder instead of a Pokémon Trainer? It's clear you can improve your Pokémon in a lot of ways. If you were to take that to the next level then you potentially be the best Trainer in all of Kanto."

"…I don't want to talk about."

Rachel placed her head slightly towards the ground and started thinking about her past again. She did that, Ryan noticed the look that was on her face. He could tell that she trying her best to hold back some tears and she was doing a very good job in making it seem like nothing was bothering her. However, Ryan could tell that her eyes had a lot of emotion in them. Clearly, the subject of questioning her profession was something that was very touchy to Rachel and that she didn't want to mention it to anybody. Ryan could see that very clearly, despite not having her say anything. So, in order to be polite, he decided to drop the subject all together.

"Alright," He said in a kind tone of voice. "You don't have to tell me why. Everybody has something that they don't like to talk about. It's personal and I understand that. Just know that if you do want to talk about it, I'll be here to listen."

Rachel's eyes lit up somewhat as she turned her head from the floor and back towards Ryan. When she did, she saw that the young man was smiling at her. The smile itself seemed rather unique to her, like something that she would see in either an anime or manga. However, she could tell that it was from the heart as well. He wasn't lying he spoke those words and Rachel was able to see that. As a result, she was able to cheer up a little.

"Thanks," She said softly.

Eventually, just after Rachel got herself back together, a loud dinging noise began to echo throughout the entire Pokémon Center for a few seconds. When it ended Nurse Joy, the one who's in charge of the entire Center, appear on the loudspeaker and began calling for Rachel to come to front desk. Upon hearing that, Rachel knew right away what Nurse Joy wanted her for and began to make her way to the front desk. However, just before she took her first step, Rachel realized something and made her way towards Ryan. She then went on to grab his arm and bring him with her to the front desk, much to his confusion.

When they reached the desk, Nurse Joy was there waiting for them and went to present Rachel with two things. The first was the Pokeball that contained her Eevee while the second was her Pokémon Egg. Once she grabbed both of items, Rachel went to thank Nurse Joy for everything she's done before expanding her Pokeball and throwing it towards the ground. When she did that, the Pokeball opened up and released a blast of light energy that soon transformed itself into her Eevee. Once it materialized, the first thing that Eevee saw was Rachel and proceeded to jump into her arms.

"It's good to see you too Eevee," She said with a smile. "I'm glad you're feeling better now."

As Rachel continued to hug her Eevee, Ryan noticed that the bond that the two of them shared and smiled upon seeing how close they were. He then realized that despite knowing something about Rachel's partner and seeing battle first hand, he doesn't know everything about it. Luckily for him, he knew a way to learn about Eevee and went on to grab his Pokedex from his jacket pocket. Once he had it in hand, Ryan opened it up and pointed it towards Eevee.

"_Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon," _The device said. _"Eevee is a unique Pokémon that can adapt to its environment by changing its form and abilities when evolving."_

Once the Pokedex finished its explanation, Ryan put the device back into his pocket and walked over towards Rachel and her Eevee. He then decided to pet the Pokémon's head and, much to Rachel's surprise, Eevee actually enjoyed it. Despite never seeing him before until today, Eevee felt really comfortable around Ryan and had no problem with letting him pet it. When he finally finished, the Evolution Pokémon smiled at the young man who in return smiled at it as well. Both Rachel and Nurse Joy were happy to see this as it showed that Ryan loved Pokémon and would always treat them kindly. Eventually though, the former realized something and immediately brought Ryan over to Nurse Joy.

"Excuse me Nurse Joy," She said. "My friend here wants to enter the Pokémon League. Can you register him for me?"

"Sure no problem," Nurse Joy said with a smile. "All I need him to do is hand me his Pokedex or another form of license and I do it right away."

Rachel nodded her head and proceeded to point towards Ryan pocket. When he saw the direction in which she was pointing, Ryan went inside his pocket and pulled out his Pokedex. Once he did that, Rachel gently took it from him and presented it Nurse Joy. The nurse then went on to take it from Rachel and inserted the device into the computer that beside her. After typing on the keys for a few minutes, Nurse Joy finished doing what she was doing and took the Pokedex from out the computer. After she did that, the nurse then went on to give the device back to Ryan.

"There you go," She said. "You're registered for the next Pokémon League competition that takes place in nearly a year."

Ryan nodded his head in approval and looked down towards his Pokedex. He then went on to clinch the device that not only acts as his Pokémon License, but also allowed him to enter the Pokémon League for a seconds before putting it back in his jacket pocket. As soon as he did that, Ryan turned his attention back towards Nurse Joy.

"Thank you so much," He said to her. "So…where's the closest Gym from Viridian City? I would really like to start collecting Gym Badges now."

"Well, to tell you the truth, there is a Gym here in Viridian City," Nurse Joy told him. "However, the Gym Leader hasn't been present for the last couple of months. As the result the Gym's been closed and no one knows when it will open again."

Hearing that news depressed Ryan somewhat as he was really hoping to start collecting Gym Badges right away and begin his quest to enter the Pokémon League. Even though he has nearly one year to accomplish that task, the young man really wanted to get started right away as it would allow him and his Pokémon to be fully prepared for the competition. Both Nurse Joy and Rachel noticed this and the former decided to help Ryan out with this problem.

"Don't worry though," She said. "Even though the Viridian City Gym is closed, there's another Gym that's not far from here. It's in Pewter City."

"Oh yeah," Rachel said, following up on Nurse Joy's information. "I almost forgot the Gym that's over there. It's just beyond the Viridian Forest, which is the space in between two cities."

"That's right," Nurse Joy said. "Also, unlike the Viridian City Gym, the Pewter City Gym is open and is always accepting challengers. I'm sure that it'll be the perfect place for you to your Pokémon Journey."

Upon learning that information, Ryan looked towards both Nurse Joy and Rachel and nodded his head towards both of them. He then proceeded to clinch both of his fists and started gathering all the strength and motivation that he had within him. Once he had enough, Ryan raised both of his arms up in the air.

"Alright!" He said. "If Pewter City is where my first Gym Battle is then that's where I'm headed! Thank you Nurse Joy, I couldn't have chosen this path without your help."

"It's no problem," Joy said to him. "I'm always happy to help someone. Good luck in all your battles and be sure to take good care of your Pokémon."

"Don't worry, I will," Ryan replied.

Once he finished his conversation, Ryan put his arms down and bowed towards Nurse Joy slightly. He then turned around towards Rachel and bowed towards her as well, much to her embarrassment. As soon as he lifted himself back up, Ryan smiled at Rachel again in anime/manga fashion before coming over and petting her Eevee again. When he finished, he looked at the both of them.

"Thanks for the info Rachel," He said to her. "I'll be sure to do everything that you said I should do during my travels. I hope to see you and your Eevee sometime down the road."

"Um…yeah," Rachel replied, not really sure how to feel about him leaving.

After saying his goodbyes, Ryan made sure that he had all of his things with him before beginning to make his way out of the Pokémon Center. As she watched him walk away, Rachel still didn't know how to feel about it all. She only met a couple of hours ago and for some strange reason she doesn't want him to leave. Was it because he was a nice guy or the fact she still felt indebted to him for helping her out. In the end Rachel didn't know and it was beginning to bother her a little bit. She soon was about to call out to him, but stopped when she heard someone else doing the same thing.

"Long time no see…Ryan,"

When he heard the voice calling out to him, Ryan lit up a little bit as he recognized the voice of said it. He then turned his attention towards the front of the Pokémon Center and saw 4 individuals making his way over to him. Rachel saw them too and noticed that it was the thugs that messed with her earlier; Takeshi, Butch, and Johnny. However, there was one more person with them; someone that she did not recognize. As she tried to figure who he was, Ryan walked up towards all of them and stared down the fourth person.

"It has been a long time," He said in a somewhat angry tone of voice. "It seems like you're still being dick…huh Shark."

"It seems to me that you're still a weakling," Shark countered. "But then again, you were always destined to be a weakling."

Shark's comment unnerved Ryan a little bit as he began clinching his hand somewhat. Rachel noticed this and knew right away that both Ryan and Shark have some unpleasant history with one another. The real question was, how do they know one another and why do they have this nasty tension between each other. So, in order to get these questions answered, Rachel walked up towards Ryan and asked him what he knew.

"Hey," She said. "Who is this guy and how do you know him?"

"…His name is Reginald Kastle," Ryan answered. "But he's mostly name by his nickname; Shark. He's a bully from Pallet Town, which is also my hometown, and he's willing to make fun of or beat up someone who doesn't see his way. Also, like a shark, he's willing to bite your head off the moment he smells blood in the water."

Rachel listened to Ryan's explanation closely, but could tell that he was leaving out some important details. She could tell that what he said from his own perspective and he truly believed it, but also knew that he wanted to say more. She was about to ask him something, but Ryan continued on with his explanation before she had the chance to speak.

"One day, while I was hanging out with some of my friends, Shark started picking on me, saying that I couldn't become a Pokémon Master. He also said that I was riding on the coattails of my older sister who, according to him, was a sorry excuse for a Pokémon Trainer. Hearing him disrespect both my dream and my family pushed me over the edge and I got into a fight with Shark. It lasted for a couple of hours and was only broken up when Professor Oak appeared with a couple of his assistants. Shortly after that fight, Shark left Pallet Town without the both of us settling the score. However, he did say that Pallet Town was a place that was simply too small for him."

"And I was right," Shark interrupted. "Pallet was too small for someone like me and you're still riding on your worthless sister's coattails!"

Hearing Shark talk bad about his sister again nearly caused Ryan to snap and was about to punch him dead in the face. Takeshi, Johnny, and Butch were about to defend their leader, but came in at the last moment and stopped Ryan by grabbing his fist. She then try her best to put his arm down, which she found father difficult as Ryan's anger was increasing his strength a little. Eventually though, the young woman was able to do so and looked back towards Shark who started talking again.

"Look at you Ryan," He said. "You even need the help of girl. If that's not weakness then I don't know what is. And you say that you're going to become a Pokémon Master."

"I am going to become a Pokémon Master!" Ryan shouted. "And I'll prove it to you! I'm going to win the Pokémon League and become the champion of all of Kanto!"

"You…? Become the champion of Kanto?" Shark questioned. "I'll believe that when I see it."

Ryan started gritting his teeth in frustration as Sharks words were getting to him. Despite the fact that's been nearly a year since they last saw each other, the young man could tell that Shark hasn't changed at all. In fact, in a lot ways, he's become worst as he now has friends who support his ways and ideals. The sight of that made Ryan sick to his stomach and knew only one way to shut Shark up and prove to him that he was wrong. To that end, the young man grabbed one Pokeball from his belt buckle and expanded it. Once it was firmly in the palm of his hand, Ryan presented the ball right in front of Shark.

"I'll prove it to you right now!" He said, full of determination. "Shark, I challenge you to a battle!"

"…Fine with me," Shark said as he pulled out a Pokeball of his own and expanded it. "In fact, I was hoping to battle you. I can now show you, and your worthless Pokémon, just how weak all of you are!"

As she looked at the two boys, Rachel knew that a battle between the two of them couldn't be stopped. It was simply an unavoidable outcome. When two people of different beliefs and interest come in contact with one another, naturally conflict is sure to follow. It's simply how humans are. Rachel knew that very well and she also knew that such a conflict couldn't be settled unless both Ryan and Shark had this battle. So, in order make sure it happened without making too much of a mess, Rachel turned herself around and told everyone to follow her, which they proceeded to do.

* * *

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, Rachel led all of them just outside the Pokémon Center. Once they were all outside everyone noticed that several fields, similar to the ones that Pokémon Trainers use to have battles on, were positioned on the ground. The reason why the Center has fields like these is so that Trainers can have practice battles with each other. These battles would allow them to not only see that their Pokémon were physically fit, but also made sure that they can still maintain their training. Ryan was very impressed by them as it would be the first time he would have a battle on a field like this. He then silently promised himself that he would win on this battlefield and prove to Shark that he wasn't weak.

Once Ryan finished examining the battlefield, Rachel directed him to one side of it while Shark made his way to the other side. As soon as they were both their, Takeshi and the other thugs stood by the side and watched intently as Rachel started talking to everyone.

"Alright," She said. "We're going to make this very simple. This will be a 2-on-2 Battle with both of you using 2 Pokémon each. The battle is over when one Trainer loses all of their Pokémon and substitutions are only allowed at the end of each round. Do both of you understand?"

Both Ryan and Shark nodded their heads, indicating that they understood Rachel's explanation and would follow it to the letter. Upon seeing that, Rachel nodded her head as well before raising both of her arms into the air, signaling the start of the battle. Once he saw that, Ryan acted quickly and proceeded to throw a Pokeball out onto the battlefield. The ball opened up and released a bright flash of light energy that soon transformed into his Pidgey. When Shark saw the Tiny Bird Pokémon flying in front of him, the young man couldn't help but laugh.

"That's who you're starting off with?" He jokingly questioned. "Everyone and the grandmother has at least one Pidgey Ryan. Here, let me show you how really start off a battle!"

Shark pulled out a Pokeball from his belt and quickly expanded until it was around the size of a baseball. As soon as it reached that size, he threw it out towards the battlefield and watched as a bright flash of light emerged from it. When the energy began to materialize onto the field, Ryan noticed that was beginning to take the shape of a bird. He then noticed that this particular bird had red and white feather with a rough brown plumage. After trying to recognize it, Ryan realized that he's never seen it before and proceeded to pull out his Pokedex in order to discover what it was.

"_Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon," _The Pokedex explained. _"Spearow has a very loud cry that can be heard over half a mile away. If its high, keening cry is heard echoing all around, it is a sign that they are warning each other of danger."_

After learning more about Shark's Pokémon, Ryan quickly put his Pokedex away and looked towards Spearow. Despite only seeing it once, Ryan knew right away that it was not only very strong, but well trained as well. He also knew that if he was going to defeat it then he would need to strike hard and fast. By doing that, he might be able to keep the pressure on Shark's Pokémon and make it unable to fight back. That strategy seemed to be the best way to deal with his opponents and Ryan decided to start initiating his plan now.

"Pidgey," He called. "Start things off with you Quick Attack!"

Pidgey nodded its head and complied with its Trainer's order by dashing towards Spearow at a blinding speed. It then started circling around Spearow, trying to confuse it with its swift movements. As it did that, Ryan seemed curtained that Shark and Spearow had no idea which direction his Pidgey was going to strike from. However, unfortunately for him, both Shark and Spearow did know the direction in which Pidgey was flying in. In fact, from their perspective, it was like Pidgey was moving in slow motion. Eventually, once he was able to predict where Pidgey was going to come in from, Shark made his move.

"Spearow," He called out too. "Dodge that Pidgey and use your Peck attack!"

Just as Shark finished saying that, Pidgey quickly dove down towards Spearow and prepared itself to ram its body into its foe. However, just as it was about to do that, Spearow managed to gracefully dodge Pidgey's attack and get behind it. Once it was positioned just above its target's head, Spearow took its extremely sharp beak and began pecking down directly on Pidgey's head.

The force from the repeated pecks were so intense that it caused Pidgey to immediately stop flying and fall towards the ground. It then tried its best to cover its head with its wings, but still found it hard to defend itself from Spearow's attack. Ryan looked on at this scene with great interest and started pondering what he should do to make Spearow stop attacking. Eventually, he soon got an idea on what he should do and immediately decided to test his plan out.

"Pidgey, try and use Gust and blow Spearow away from you!"

Pidgey gently shook its head and tried its best to shake Spearow off, who still pecking down on its head very hard. Soon though, the Tiny Bird Pokémon was able to get its opponent off of it and began flapping both of its wings very rapidly as a result. The force from the flaps created a small windstorm that began to make its way over to Spearow. Luckily for it though, Shark was prepared for such a tactic and had a counter measure for it.

"Spearow," He said. "Use the momentum of that Gust and use Aerial Ace!"

Spearow complied with Shark's orders and willingly let itself be struck by Pidgey's Gust attack. When he saw that, Ryan had a happy expression on his face as he was able to widen the distance between his and Shark's Pokémon. However, that happy expression would be short lived as Spearow dove towards the ground after the wind from the Gust started to die down. Then, just as it was about to hit the floor, Spearow flew back up and began heading towards Pidgey at a speed so fast that Ryan couldn't see it. Because of his inability to keep an eye of his opponent's Pokémon, Ryan could only watch on helplessly as Spearow slammed its entire body into Pidgey stomach. In fact, the force of the blow was so intense that small explosion occurred and the smoke covered both Pokémon for a few seconds.

"No, Pidgey!" Ryan cried in disbelief.

When the smoke of the explosion finally faded away, everyone was observing the battle saw two things. The first was that Shark's Spearow was flying high in the air, seemingly happy at what it just done. The second was that Ryan's Pidgey was falling towards the ground, completely unconscious after being struck by Spearow's Aerial Ace. When it hit the ground, Rachel looked over the fallen Flying-Type and saw that it couldn't battle anymore today. As a result, she raised her right hand and pointed it towards Spearow.

"Pidgey is unable to battle," She said. "Spearow wins."

Once she declared that Pidgey couldn't battle anymore and that Spearow won the first round for Shark, Rachel turned her attention towards Ryan and saw that he was still shocked at what just happened. In a matter of only a few moves, Shark was able to get his Spearow to outmaneuver Pidgey and knock it out of the match. Ryan felt certain that his Pokémon's speed would allow him to win, but Spearow was still so much faster. He then realized that if he wanted to overcome Spearow's speed then he'll need to overpower it. However, before he could do that, Ryan knew that he had to recall his Pidgey. To that end, the young man pulled out Pidgey's Pokeball and pointed it at the fallen Pokémon.

"Pidgey return," He said.

As soon as he said that, a red beam of light shot from Pidgey's Pokeball and went on to strike the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Soon, the beam transformed it into the same kind of red energy and found itself being sucked back into the ball. When that happened, Ryan looked at the Pokeball very intently.

"Good job Pidgey. You take a nice long rest."

After congratulating his Pokémon on a job well done, Ryan shrunk the Pokeball back into its golf ball size and placed it back on his belt buckle. He then went on to grab the Pokeball that was placed next to it and enlarge it into its bigger size. Once the ball was firmly in his hand, Ryan looked towards Shark and saw that he had a cocky grin on his face. Just looking at that grim annoyed the hell out of him as it was look Shark always had, even back when they were younger. Ryan soon decided to take that grin off his opponent's face once and for all and proceeded to throw the Pokeball that he was holding out onto the battlefield.

"Charmander, I choose you!" He cried.

The Pokeball opened up and released a massive form of light energy that landed quickly on the ground. Soon, the light began to take shape and transformed itself into Ryan's Charmander. When the Lizard Pokémon looked around at its surroundings, one of the first things that it saw was Spearow. Just looking at the Flying-Type Pokémon triggered Charmander's battling instincts and it soon got itself ready for action.

Upon seeing Ryan's next choice of Pokémon, Shark knew right away that Charmander was Ryan's Starter. He also knew that Charmander was a bit a stronger than the Pidgey that he just defeated with his Spearow. If both Spearow and Charmander fought each other right now, Shark had every confidence that his Pokémon would come out the winner. However, he also knew that during that battle there was a strong chance that his Spearow could be pushed to its limit. He didn't want that to happen. Shark wanted to crush Ryan completely and the best way to do that was to prove to him that he was never a match for him in the first place. To that end, Shark pulled out Spearow's Pokeball and pointed it at the Tiny Bird Pokémon.

"Spearow return," He said.

A bright red beam of energy shot from the Pokeball and struck Spearow, converting it back into light energy. Once it returned to its energy form, Spearow was sucked back inside of its Pokeball and Shark put it away. He then went on to grab another Pokeball and pressed the button in the middle in order to expand its size. As soon as that happened, Shark looked towards Ryan and grinned at him once more.

"It seems you're bad in choosing Starter Pokémon," He told him. "Here, let me show you…what a true Starter Pokémon looks like!"

Shark tossed the Pokeball from his hand and watched as it opened up and released a powerful blast of light energy. When the energy hit the ground and started to change shape, Ryan started to recognize what type of Pokémon it was as he just saw it the other day. It was a small blue turtle with red eyes, a brown shell, and a curled up tail.

"Squirtle…" He said softly to himself.

Shark's second Pokémon was one of 3 Pokémon that beginning Trainers can choose from to start their Journey with. Squirtle, the Water-Type Pokémon. Just looking at it caused Ryan to remember how he was about to choose his Starter Pokémon. It was a choice between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle and for a moment, Ryan seemed like Squirtle would be the best fit for him. However, after seeing how well he had bonded with Charmander, Ryan decided to choose the Fire-Type Starter instead of the Water-Type Starter. It's was somewhat ironic. The Pokémon that he was on the verge of choosing is now his next opponent in this Pokémon Battle.

Realizing that Squirtle's Water-Type moves could have negative effect on Charmander, Ryan proceeded to pull out his Pokedex in order learn more about the Pokémon that he was about to face. Despite knowing a lot about it, the young knew that he could stand to learn more.

"_Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon," _His Pokedex explained. _"Squirtle shelters itself in its powerful shell, then strikes back with spouts of water at every opportunity."_

Once the Pokedex finished its explanation, Ryan went on to place the device back into his pocket before looking down towards Squirtle. He then tried to come up with a plan to battle it. Since Squirtle was a Water-Type Pokémon, Charmander's Fire-Type attacks wouldn't be all that effective against it. Also, because of that hard shell its wearing, Squirtle could also possibly defend itself from Charmander's physical attacks as well. It seemed like a no win situation. However, Ryan was too determined to give up this battle. He wanted to defeat Shark more than anything, despite how big the odds were against him. So, after taking a deep breath, Ryan started off the round by having his Charmander use one of its signature attacks.

"Charmander, use Ember!" He ordered.

Charmander complied with Ryan's commanded and began to the battle by shooting a barrage of tiny fireballs towards Squirtle. As the attacks made their way over to it, Shark saw how small they were and felt they were unworthy of being dodged. So an attack couldn't possibly do any damaged to his Squirtle and he wanted Ryan to see that first hand.

"Squirtle," He called. "Use Withdraw!"

Squirtle nodded its tiny head and proceeded to retract all of its limbs into its shell. Once it was inside, the barrage of fireballs finally made their way over to it and struck the shell. However, because of the shell's density, none of the fireballs had any effect on Squirtle who swiftly emerged once the attack was over.

"Now," Shark continued. "Let me show you a real long range attack. Squirtle, use Bubble on Charmander!"

Squirtle followed its Trainer's command without questioned and fired a barrage of powerful bubble-like attacks Charmander. Seeing that attacks coming towards it, caused Charmander to jump around the battlefield in order to avoid them. However, as the bubbles hit the ground, some of the droplets of water that ricochet hit Charmander, causing it to feel extremely uncomfortable. Ryan noticed how his Pokémon was feeling and decided he needed it to regroup.

"Charmander, run and avoid those bubbles as best you can!" He said.

Charmander heard Ryan's commanded, but found it extremely hard to carry out. The large number of bubbles made it extremely difficult to move around as one wrong move could cause it to be struck by one of them. Also, as the more droplets of water continued to rain down it, Charmander's movements gradually became slower and slower, thus making it even harder to dodge.

"Keep it up Squirtle!" Shark said in a cocky tone. "Now, use your Tackle attack!"

Squirtle continued firing its Bubble attack for a few more seconds so that Charmander would continue to tire itself out by dodging its blows. Once it determined that the Lizard Pokémon strength was waned enough, Squirtle dashed over to Charmander as fast as it could and rammed its entire body into its stomach. The force of the blow knocked Ryan's Pokémon onto the wet battlefield, causing it even more pain as the water felt like acid too it. Then, as if right on cue, Squirtle fired another barrage of bubbles at Charmander, forcing it to get up and start jumping around again.

Ryan was very worried as he watched this scene as he didn't know what to do. Because of Squirtle's hard shell, attacking it from a distance was pointless and attacking from close up probably wouldn't do any good either. Also, Squirtle's Bubble attack always kept Charmander moving, which Ryan saw was beginning to take its toll on the little Pokémon. Plus, even if it stopped shooting its attack, Squirtle would then run over towards Charmander and slam it with a powerful Tackle while it was worn out. Things were looking really bad and Ryan was unsure on what to do.

"Damn it," He cursed silently. "I have to think of something, but what? If only I could blind Squirtle for a just a moment Wait a minute…I think I can."

Suddenly getting an idea that might just work, Ryan quickly pulled his Pokedex from his pocket and immediately searched through the feature that had all the moves that his Charmander currently knew. As he looked through all of them, the young man noticed that Charmander had one move that it had yet to use. If Ryan used this move correctly, then there was a chance that he could stop Squirtle's movements and possibly get a hit on it while it was confused. The chances were slim that it would work, but at this stage Ryan had no other choice.

"Charmander…use Smokescreen!"

Charmander nodded its head slightly as he continued to avoid Squirtle's Bubble attack to the best of its ability. Soon though, the Lizard Pokémon jumped back as hard as it could and then quickly released a thick black smoke cloud from its mouth. The cloud covered the entire battlefield very quickly and its thickness made it very hard for everyone to see what was going on inside of it, especially Shark and his Squirtle.

"What the hell is this?!" He questioned angrily. "Stop using cheep parlor tricks Ryan and fight like a man!"

Ryan didn't respond to Shark's words and simply kept his cool. He knew that his opponent gets angry very easily when things don't go his way and he wanted to exploit that. Ryan had to get Shark off his game as it was the only way he was going to stand a chance in this battle.

He then turned his attention towards the smoke cloud and saw just how thick it really was. It was so black that Ryan couldn't see past it, but also knew that same would be applied to Squirtle and Shark. By using the blinding properties of the smoke to his advantage, he could attack Squirtle while its guard was down. Also, since Charmander was the one who launched the attack, it naturally was able to see through it and keep an eye on its opponent. Finally, things were going Ryan's way and decided that he needed to keep it that way.

"Charmander," He called. "Use your Ember attack!"

Charmander complied and fired another barrage of fireballs from its mouth. He then watched as each fireball made their way through the smoke cloud and hit Squirtle, who was unable to see where the barrage came from. Also, the Lizard Pokémon noticed that while the fireballs didn't do much damage to Squirtle it did caused it to feel a little bit of pain. That sight really motivated the Fire-Type to keep on the attack and cried out to Ryan in order to have him launch his next commanded.

"Now," He said, continuing the pressure. "Follow it up with your Scratch attack!"

After hearing what to do next, Charmander sharpened both of its tiny claws and began running around the smoke cloud. It then watched as Squirtle finally got over the pain of the Ember and started looking around for it. However, like before, the cloud's thickness made it hard for the Water-Type to see where Charmander would come out from, thus making it very confused. Eventually, after making sure that it was behind it, Charmander rushed towards Squirtle and scratched the back of its head repeatedly before running back into the smoke cloud to hide.

When Shark saw this, the young Trainer was quickly become extremely frustrated as he didn't expect Ryan to use Charmander's Smokescreen as a way to hide and attack Squirtle from behind. He found this tactic to be very cowardly as he believed that only cowards hide and attack from behind. This only fueled Shark's anger towards Ryan and decided that enough was enough. He was going to end this battle right now and show Ryan how a true Pokémon Trainer does battle.

To that effect, Shark looked at the cloud carefully and waited for anything that seemed out of place. He left out no detail as he knew that Charmander would strike the moment it felt the time was right. In order to make sure that didn't happened, Shark would have to have Squirtle attack the instant Charmander launched its next attack. That way, the Lizard Pokémon wouldn't be able to avoid it.

"Charmander," Ryan called. "Use your Ember again!"

Charmander agreed and fired a third barrage of fireballs towards Squirtle. Like before, Squirtle found it hard to see where the attack was coming from and started looking around franticly. Fortunately for it though, Shark had his eyes wide open and watched carefully for the attack. Soon, he noticed that the fireballs were coming from the left of Squirtle and proceeded to his hand in that direction.

"Squirtle, look to the left and counter with Water Gun!"

Squirtle noticed the direction that Shark was pointing at and immediately turned its head in that direction. At that moment, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon saw the fireballs and they were coming right at it. Realizing that it needed to act fast, Squirtle released a powerful stream of water from its mouth. The water was so strong that it not only doused the fireballs, but also struck Charmander, who was a good distance away. The force of the blow knocked the Fire Pokémon back towards it Trainer and also caused the entire smoke cloud to dissipate as well. Once the cloud was gone, Squirtle finally saw Charmander and watched as it struggled to get back to its feet.

"It's time to end this sorry affair!" Shark stated. "Squirtle…strike down that Charmander with your strongest Water Gun!"

The Water-Type Pokémon nodded its head and once again fired another stream of water from its mouth, this one being about 2 times as powerful. Being already weakened by the first Water Gun blast, Charmander was in no condition to avoid the second one and was soon found itself being sent flying by it. As its Trainer looked on in an utter state of shock, Charmander fell on the wet battlefield face first. Rachel quickly examined the fallen Pokémon and noticed that the flame that was on the tip of its tail was extremely low, indicating that its endurance was very low. Knowing full well that it couldn't battle anymore, let alone take another attack, Rachel raised her right arm and directed it towards Shark and his Squirtle.

"Charmander is unable to battle," She said to everyone. "Squirtle wins. The victor of the match is Reginald Kastle!"

After Rachel declared Shark the winner of the battle, Ryan immediately rushed over towards the battlefield and made his over to Charmander. Once he was by his Pokémon's side, the young man gently held it in his arms and saw that it was barely able to keep its eyes open. Just seeing that expression made him remember how Charmander nearly drowned when it fell in the lake. It was scene he had hoped to never see again, but unfortunately that was the case due to his lack of his experience. Realizing that error of his, Ryan gently pet Charmander's head before grabbing its Pokeball.

"…Great job buddy," He said softly. "You take a nice long rest now."

As the Pokedex fired a beam of red energy at it, Charmander noticed the sad expression that was its Trainer face. It soon started to feel bad as its weakness not only caused its Trainer to feel sad, but also cost him the match as well. It then tried to gently touch Ryan's face in order to make it feel better, but Charmander was fully converted into light energy before it could. When the energy made its way back inside of the Pokeball, Ryan shrunk it and put it away before turning its attention back towards the ground.

While he sulked, Rachel slowly made his way up to him and saw just how hard this was for him. This loss was most likely his first one and that had to hurt. Not only that, but the loss came to someone that he didn't really like which probably made even worse. Rachel knew how Ryan felt all too well and wanted to say something to him in order to make him feel better. However, before should say a single word, Shark walked over towards them and cut her off.

"See," He said. "I told you that you were weak. Someone like you doesn't have what it takes to win the Pokémon League, let alone become a Pokémon Master. I, on the other hand, will do both of those things and show the world my true strength! You should return Pallet Town; it's a place more up to your speed."

Once he finished berating Ryan, Shark looked over at him and saw that he was still dwelling on his defeat. Just seeing that put a smile on his face as he accomplished what he set out to do. He then tried to pick at him again, but Rachel got in front of him before he could. Despite the fact that she hardly knew Ryan, Rachel wasn't going to sit by and watch someone harass another. Shark didn't back down from Rachel though and seemed prepared to go through her if the situation required him to do so. However, after realizing that such an act would probably cause a scene, the young man simply turned himself around and started to walk away.

As he walked, Shark pulled out Squirtle's Pokeball and immediately returned it back inside of it. He then shrunk the ball back to its smaller size and hooked it onto his belt before walking past his comrades. When that happened, Takeshi followed closely behind him while Johnny and Butch teased Ryan and Rachel again before following too. Just when they were about to leave, Ryan got himself up from the ground and looked towards Shark, head still facing down.

"…I'll," He said. "I'll…beat you. Next time we battle…I will beat you!"

Shark turned himself around and saw that while Ryan was still looking down towards the ground, he clinching his fists in anger. However that didn't impress him in the slightest. To him, it didn't matter how many times that the two of them fought as the result would always be the same. As a result, Shark grinned at him before turning around and leaving.

"No. The next time we battle…I'll crush you until there's nothing left."

* * *

After the battle against Shark was over, Rachel convince Ryan to bring his weaken Pokémon over to Nurse Joy so that they could be healed. At first, the young man was reluctant to do so as he was still shaken up by his defeat. But, after Rachel told him that sulking wouldn't make his Pokémon any better, Ryan eventually agreed to Rachel's idea and made his way back inside of the Pokémon Center. Once he was there, Ryan handed both his Charmander and his Pidgey over to Nurse Joy who informed him that everything would be alright right and that his Pokémon would be fine. Ryan was grateful for her words, but a part of him felt that things wouldn't be as fine as she made them out to be.

While he waited for Nurse Joy to finish tending to his Pokémon, Ryan stayed to himself for a while and started thinking about his battle. He tried everything he possibly could to defeat Shark and was able to confuse him for a little bit. However, despite pulling out all the stops, it still wasn't enough to get the job done. Both Charmander and Pidgey were crushed by Squirtle and Spearow respectively and Ryan wasn't even able to pull out a single victory. That fact, out of anything else, hurt Ryan the most and it made him question whether he really did have what it took to become a Pokémon Master.

As he pondered that, Ryan saw something in the Pokémon Center that really caught his eye. He saw a couple of Trainers talking to people on videophones. A videophone is a high-tech device that allows people to have face-to-face conversations with one another even though their far away from each other. Ryan knew this as both he and his mother have videophone at their house. As he continued to look at all the people having their conversations, Ryan remembered something that Professor Oak told him before he left Pallet Town earlier today. He told him that if he ever needed help with something then do not be afraid to contact him. After thinking about it, Ryan decided that he really did need help and what better person to help him out with that problem than Professor Oak himself. So, with that decision in mind, Ryan got up and made his way over to an open videophone.

Once he got that, Ryan immediately sat down right in front of it and immediately grabbed the phone from off of its hook. He then placed the phone by his right ear and dialed the number to Professor Oak's Laboratory. After a few rings, the video screen lit up and the Professor was on the other end. They then happily greeted one another before Ryan told him about what happened today with Shark.

"I see," Oak said. "So that's what happened."

"…Yeah," Ryan replied. "Shark completely decimated me, like I was even a challenge for him. I tried everything within my power to counter him…but it still wasn't enough."

Ryan continued to berate himself over his failure to defeat Shark and the Professor quickly realized that he was being too hard on himself. Even though he lost the battle, Ryan still did a very good job. During the second match against Charmander and Squirtle, he was able to make great use of the former's Smokescreen attack in order confuse the latter. Not many beginning Pokémon Trainers could do something like that and make perfect use of it. Also, the fact that Ryan managed to hold his own against Shark, someone who's been training Pokémon longer than him, was an accomplishment in its own right. All he really needed to do was apply everything that he experienced in this battle and improve on them. If he did that, Professor Oak knew that Ryan could go very far. So, in order to get his young friend out of his depressed state of mind, Professor decided to give Ryan a piece of advice.

"Listen Ryan," He told him. "Anyone who becomes a Pokémon Trainer eventually has to go through what you're going through. However, it's how they deal with those defeats that determine whether or not they become great. I mean, just look at your sister. She went through her fair share of defeats and still does so to this day. But, she managed to over the pain of those losses and become even stronger for it. You have the potential to do the same thing, but you have to believe in yourself and believe in the power of your Pokémon."

When Professor Oak finished talking he looked over towards Ryan face again and saw that the young man was thinking about everything that he just heard. This was good as it showed him that Ryan was absorbing the information that he was given and applying it to himself. That was another important factor that a Pokémon Trainer should have as they need to take everything that they learn, whether in battle or in life, and see how it affects their life. Oak knew that Ryan had the ability to do this and, after seeing his face light up a little, knew that he was beginning to realize that too.

"Thanks Professor Oak," Ryan said with a small smile. "I appreciate the advice."

"Don't mention it Ryan," Oak happily replied. "I'll always be willing to help you. Just remember what I told you, keep doing your best, and keep catching those Pokémon."

Ryan nodded his head and hung up the videophone, causing the screen to cut off. He then started thinking about what Professor Oak told him while also thinking about his battle against Shark. He soon came to the conclusion that the Professor was right. He's letting himself being too hung up this one particular battle. If he truly wants to become a Pokémon Master, Ryan knew that he needed to overcome this defeat and move forward. Only those who have the ability to do that can become Pokémon Masters, just like his older sister.

Also, Ryan thought about his overall relationship with Shark. In the past, both of them would compete with each other in a variety of contests with him always coming second to Shark. However, despite always losing to him in those contests, Ryan never really got upset about it. He would usually try to improve on those failures so that he wouldn't lose the next time. It was the same thing here. If he wanted to defeat Shark the next they battled then he needed to learn from the battle they had today. He also needed to catch Pokémon that were more compatible with Shark's and raise them in order overcome his own. By doing that, Ryan felt that he could defeat his rival the next time they met.

Eventually, after he finished dwelling on his defeat and decided to move forward, another loud dinging noise rung through the entire Pokémon Center and Nurse Joy soon called Ryan over the front desk. Realizing that she finished healing his Pokémon, Ryan quickly got up and made his way over the front desk. Once he was there, the young man notice both Nurse Joy and Rachel were waiting for him with the former holding two Pokeballs in her hands. Ryan gently took the two Pokeballs that were in Nurse Joy's possession and thanked her for all she's done. He then went on to throw both the Pokeballs towards the ground and watched as they simultaneously released blasts of light energy that transformed themselves into Charmander and Pidgey respectively. When both of his Pokémon were fully materialized, Ryan noticed that they were feeling much better, which made him very happily. He then knelt down to their height level and said something to the both of them.

"Hey guys," He started off. "I want to thank you again for everything you've done. I know that loss wasn't easy and I wouldn't blame you if you're still thinking about it. I know I'm sure am. However, we can't let that stop us. If we want to defeat Shark, and any other Trainer that we happen to come across, then we need to keep moving forward. If have to become stronger than what we are now and use that strength to overcome any challenge that comes our way. I know it will be hard and some days we might want to give up, but we can't do that. We have to keep going and prove to everyone that we can do this. I know it's asking a lot, but I want you to know one thing. No matter what happens…I'll always stand by you and believe in your strength."

After finishing his speech, Ryan placed his hand out in front of Charmander and Pidgey and waited to see a reaction from them. As he waited, both Rachel and Nurse Joy looked on with great interest and smiled when they saw Charmander and Pidgey place their hand and wing on top of Ryan's hand. That sight made Ryan smile as well as it showed him that both of Pokémon believed in him and would stand by him. He then went on to hug the both of them for a moment before grabbing their Pokeballs. Once both spheres were facing them, a red beam of light struck both Charmander and Pidgey, transforming them back into light energy and returning them back inside of their Pokeballs.

Once both of his Pokémon were back inside of their Pokeballs, Ryan shrunk them down and placed them back on his belt buckle. He then turned his attention over to Nurse Joy and gently bowed towards her.

"Thank you for all your help today Nurse Joy," He said. "I'll never forget what you've done for me."

"It's no problem," Joy replied. "I'll be rooting for you during your travels and make sure to take care of those Pokémon, because it's obvious that they care about you."

Ryan nodded his head and agreed to do so. He then turned his attention towards Rachel and nodded at her as well. Despite just meeting her, Rachel has had great influence on Ryan's career as a Pokémon Trainer. By just meeting her, he was able to learn more about Pokémon and himself. Also, the fact that she was able to get him registered for the Pokémon League was helpful too. Ryan was extremely grateful to Rachel for all she's done and hoped, one day soon, he could return the favor.

After saying his thanks to the both of them, Ryan grabbed his backpack and prepared himself to leave the Pokémon Center. He knew that his first Pokémon Gym challenge was in Pewter City and that he needed to go through the Viridian Forest in order to get there. Even though he didn't know much about the forest itself, Ryan was looking forward to going there as he believed it to be the perfect spot to train in before his Gym Battle. However, just as he was about to leave the Pokémon Center, Rachel called out to him.

"Do you even know where you're going?" She's questioned.

"…Sure I do," Ryan said as he turned himself around. "I'm headed to Viridian Forest."

"That's not what I'm asking," Rachel said. "What I'm asking you is; do you know where there the Viridian Forest is?"

Ryan thought about Rachel's question for a moment and quickly realized that he had no idea where the Viridian Forest was located. It was like there was a giant cloud was on top of head and a large red question mark was in the middle of it. Rachel saw the confused expression that was on his face and sighed as a result. She proceeded to grab her things and make her way towards him.

"Listen. I'm from Cerulean City and I had to go through both Pewter City and the Viridian Forest in order to get here. I know my way around both of those places and I'm pretty sure that if both left right now, I can reach Pewter City way before you. So…I propose we do this."

"Do what exactly?" Ryan questioned.

"Allow me to take you all the way from here to Cerulean City," Rachel suggested. "It'll probably delay my journey by a few weeks, but think of it as my way of saying thank you for helping me out earlier. Also, after seeing your battle today, I figure I can give you a couple of pointers. I mean, I do know a lot about Pokémon and how to train them. So…what do you say?"

After listening to her proposal, Ryan thought about how it would be to have Rachel along with him during his Journey. Being a Pokémon Breeder, Rachel does know a lot about Pokémon and since she won a Gym Badge, her pointers could really help him out. Even though he wanted to become a Pokémon Master through his own effort, Ryan knew that having some help could be very beneficial for him. So, after making his choice, he extended his hand out towards her.

"Sure," He said. "I'll accept you offer Rachel. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," She replied as she shook his hand.

With their agreement in place, both Ryan and Rachel continued shaking hands for a minute before finally letting go. They then made sure they both had everything that they needed before finally making their way out the Pokémon Center and towards the Viridian Forest. It would probably be a tough time since they didn't know much about how each other operates, but they felt that they could get through it. After all, both of them have a strong desire to accomplish what they set out to do and in the end, that's what really counts.

* * *

_**Chapter Preview**_

_Now joined by Rachel, his brand new friend, Ryan makes his way towards the Viridian Forest in order to get to Pewter City. As they travel together, Rachel tries to teach him to become a better Trainer while helping him overcome the doubts that are in his heart as well. Also, the two of them gain a better understanding of each other's dream and why they pursue them._

_Next Time, Chapter 5: Dreams and Perseverance_


	5. Chapter 5

**Trials to Becoming a Master**

Fanfiction by- **Spirit Reader**

Pokémon original creator- **Satoshi Tajiri**

**Chapter 5: **_Dreams and Perseverance_

* * *

To the north of Viridian City lies a large and dark forest that's simple known as the Viridian Forest. It's rumored that the forest gave the city of Viridian its name, due to its luscious green coloring and the fact that some of the trees that come from it extend to the city itself. Also, another interesting thing about the forest itself is that it's considered a maze. Unless they either live there or have a map that explains its complete layout, it's very likely that Pokémon Trainers will end up getting lost inside the forest as soon as they enter it. It's not uncommon that people either end up on the brink of death after they exit the Viridian Forest or they don't come out of the forest at all. It is for those reasons, as well as some other important factors, that people consider the Viridian Forest a dangerous place at that people shouldn't go inside of it unless they're prepared to do so.

For as long as the forest been around, almost everyone tend to follow that advice. However, that wasn't the case for Pokémon Trainers, especially those who come from either Viridian City or Pallet Town. It is there that all of them usually must face one of their trials that they must overcome if they wish to become Pokémon Masters one day. This is especially true if they're trying to participate in the Pokémon League as the forest contains a large number of wild Pokémon that they can either battle against or capture. Just spending a day in there would improve the overall skills of a Pokémon Trainer greatly, so imagine what would happen if they spent about a week in the forest. Their skills would improve immensely, probably to the point that they could challenge any Gym Leader they want and give them a possible run for their money.

That was the goal for Ryan Brooks as he and his new friend, Rachel Moore, proceeded to make their way inside of the Viridian Forest. Having just been defeated in his first official Pokémon Battle by old his rival, Reginald 'Shark' Kastle, Ryan realized that he needed to get stronger if he wanted to participate in the Pokémon League. To that end, the young man decided that he would devote a large amount of his time to training while both he and Rachel made their way through the Viridian Forest and onward to Pewter City.

As they eventually entered the forest, Ryan began searching high and low for any Pokémon that happened to catch his eye. For him, it didn't matter whether they're big, small, weak, or strong. In the end, all he cared about was finding one and trying to catch it. By doing that, not only would he be able to make a brand new friend, but he would also increase the total number of Pokémon that he has by one. Having learned that one of the requirements for participation in the Pokémon League, along with obtaining the required number of Gym Badges, was to obtain at least 6 Pokémon, Ryan wanted to try and catch any one that caught his eye. Also, because of his recent defeat to Shark, he wanted to try and find a Pokémon that might be able to handle his rival's Squirtle and Spearow.

While Ryan looked through some of the nearby trees and bushes, Rachel took notice at what he was doing and started shaking her head in disapproval. She knew what he was trying to do and why he was doing it, but she also knew that Ryan was going about it the wrong way. If he wanted to catch more Pokémon then he needed to let them come to him than to just look around for them randomly. By doing what he's doing, he's only frightening them and making them run away out of fear. Only by searching for them in a strategic way would he be able to find some Pokémon and potentially capture them.

"Hey," She said, trying to grab his attention. "You're not going to find any Pokémon that way. It doesn't work like that."

"What do you mean?" Ryan questioned as he continued his search.

"What I mean is that all you're doing is scaring the Pokémon," Rachel answered. "You got to let them come to you instead of you coming to them. Pokémon are very cautious creatures and will try to avoid Trainers if they come up to them without any warning. In order to find and catch a new Pokémon you must keep them calm in order to keep them from leaving. I know that sounds like a pain in the ass, but my past experiences have shown me that this method is the best way to go about it."

As Rachel was continuing to explain the importance of Trainers letting Pokémon come to them instead of the other way around, Ryan was beginning to tune her out. For him, he believed that her way of finding Pokémon was boring. He felt that it was better for him, the Trainer, to go out a search for the Pokémon that he wanted to capture. By doing that, Ryan could determine if the Pokemon that he found was one that he really wanted and that he could leave it be if he didn't want to catch it. This was very important, as he needed to catch Pokémon that could toe to toe with Shark's.

Eventually, Ryan's efforts pay off as he managed to find a Pokémon while looking through a nearby tree bush. It had the appearance of a small rodent that had large spiny ears, oversized front teeth, and a pair of whiskers on each cheek. The Pokémon was also light blue in color, had darker blue spots covering its body, bright red eyes, and small spikes that were coming from both the top of its head and back.

The appearance of the Pokémon amazed Ryan greatly as he never seen it before in his life. He was about to touch it, but Rachel, who saw the Pokemon as well, stopped him before he could do so. This caused the Pokémon to be fully alerted to their presence and immediately jumped out of the plant bush so that it could distance itself from them. As it did that, Ryan shrugged Rachel off of him and looked towards her with a somewhat annoyed expression on his face.

"What you do that for?" He asked. "All I was going to do was pet it."

"Oh really…," Rachel replied. "Do you like being poisoned…because that's what going to happen if you touch a wild Nidoran without any thought or protection?"

"…Nidoran?" Ryan said as he looked back towards the Pokémon. "That Pokemon is called a Nidoran?"

As he continued to examine the Pokémon that was in front of him, Ryan pulled out his Pokedex from his jacket pocket and opened it up. Once he did that, the young man pointed it at Nidoran and watched as an image of it appeared on the device's display screen.

"_Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokémon," _The Pokedex informed. _"Though small, Nidoran must be treated with caution because of its powerfully toxics barbs. Even a tiny scratch can have fatal results."_

When the Pokedex finished its explanation, Ryan was immediately shocked by what he just learned and slowly took one step back. He then began to rub the hand that was about to touch Nidoran, as he just realized that he could have been killed if he had touched it. As Ryan continued to do that, Rachel noticed the expression that was on his face and she knew that he finally got what she was trying to tell him. Trainers just can't find Pokémon randomly as there's good chance that they could scare them away. However, another reason why they shouldn't do that is because they don't know what those Pokémon are capable of. One false move and it could be all over for you. That's why it's important for a Pokémon Trainer to be aware of what they're doing, because they never know what's going to happen.

Soon, as Ryan continued to zone out and Rachel kept looking at him, Nidoran noticed that the two of them weren't looking at it and proceeded to run away into another section of the forest. Upon seeing it leave, Ryan snapped out of it and tried to go after it, but soon stopped once the distance between them were too great. He then went on to kick the ground under him in frustration as he messed up again. This was the second time that his lack of insight cost him something. The first was his battle against Shark and now the second was his chance to catch a brand new Pokémon. Ryan hated that more than anything as it only proved that Shark was right and that he didn't have what takes to be a Pokemon Trainer, let alone one who can win the Pokémon League.

As he continued to ridicule himself, Rachel noticed what he was doing and started to remember how sad he was when he lost to Shark. Realizing that the loss was still fresh on his mind and that he needed to overcome it, the young woman decided that she needed to do something. She promised him that she would help him become a better Trainer during their time together and that's exactly what she was going to do. After all, if there's one thing that Rachel always does it's that she always keeps her promises.

So, in order to begin fulfilling that promise, Rachel concluded that one of things that she needed to teach Ryan was how to encounter Pokémon correctly and how to effectively capture them. To that end, she quickly pulled out a Pokeball that was placed by her side and pressed the button that was on the middle so that it could become bigger. Ryan happened to notice this and wondered what she was up too. Soon though, the young man would find out as Rachel proceeded to toss the Pokeball high into the high.

"Marill," She said. "I choose you!"

As the Pokeball began to make its way back towards the ground, it opened up and released a blast of light energy. When that energy hit the ground, it began to change form and materialize into a Pokémon. When it fully appeared, Ryan saw that it was a small and round Pokémon that looked very similar to a mouse. It had blue and white skin, round ears with red insides, and a zigzagging black tail with a blue, bubble-like ball on the end of it. Marill's appearance was very unique and Ryan decided to bring his Pokedex back out in order learn more about Rachel's Pokémon.

"_Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon," _The device explained. _"Marill's sensitive ears can detect distant sounds and its body is covered with a water-repellent fur. Because of its fur, Marill can swim through water at high speed without being slowed by the water's resistance."_

Once the Pokedex finished its explanation, Ryan put it away before examining Rachel's Pokémon some more. As he did that, Rachel was busy examining the entire forest around her. As someone who ventured the Viridian Forest before, she knew that a lot of unique Pokémon roamed here. However, if she just looked around randomly, then she knew that she wouldn't get anywhere and would probably only cause trouble. That was one of the reasons why she brought out her Marill, to make sure that didn't happen.

"Marill," She said to it. "Use your ears and locate the Pokemon that closest to you."

Marill nodded its head slightly and closed its eyes so that it could focus all of its attention on its sense of hearing. Once it did that, the Water-Type Pokemon then started to listen to anything that sounded like the movement of another Pokémon. Eventually, it soon located one after hearing a faint noise coming from a nearby tree. Upon showing Rachel the location of the tree, the young woman thanked her Pokemon before walking over towards it. As soon as she reached a certain distance to it, Rachel saw a Pokémon that resembled a large green spider that had an image of a smiley face on its back. She then nodded her head in approval before calling Ryan over to her, who went on to see the Pokémon once he reached her.

"See there," She said. "That's how you find a Pokémon. By using my Marill's highly sensitive hearing, I'm able to find Pokémon without frightening them or have them come to me without them thinking that I'm a threat. The fact that I was able to find this Spinarak is proof that this concept works."

"I see..," Ryan said as he was beginning to understand what she was telling him. "So that's a Spinarak."

Once again, Ryan pulled out his Pokedex from his jacket pocket and proceeded to have the device scan it. As soon as it did that, the Pokedex displayed an image of the unique Bug-Type Pokémon before explaining what it was to Ryan.

"_Spinarak, the String Spit Pokémon. The web spun by Spinarak can be considered its second nervous system. It is said that this Pokémon can determine what kind of prey is touching its web just by the tiny vibrations it feels through the web's strands."_

As the Pokedex finished talking, Ryan was amazed by all the things that it said that Spinarak can do. Having such a Pokémon could be very valuable to his team, making him consider catching it. However, before he could even get the chance to do so, Ryan noticed that Rachel was already one step ahead of him as she pulled out an empty Pokeball from his bag.

"Alright," She said as she expanded the ball. "Now, let me show you some battling techniques. Marill, use Water Gun on that Spinarak!"

Marill complied with Rachel's command and proceeded to fire a powerful stream of water from its mouth. As the attack made its way towards Spinarak, who was unaware of it, Ryan noticed the power of the water and saw that it wasn't as big as the one that Shark's Squirtle released. However, despite the lack in strength, Marill's Water Gun attack was strong enough to knock Spinarak from off the tree that it was on and caused it to fall to the ground.

"Good work Marill!" Rachel complimented.

The Aqua Mouse Pokémon started jumping up and down in approval as it was extremely happy that it just received a nice compliment from its Trainer. However, knowing that the battle was still not over yet, Marill quickly calmed itself down and watched carefully as Spinarak slowly began to sit and face it. Once it did that, the String Spit Pokémon proceeded to fire a silky string from its small mouth.

Rachel took what attack Spinarak was using and realized that it can cause her Marill some problems if it connected. Now normally she would simply have her Pokémon dodge the attack and counter by having it fire another Water Gun attack. However, she knew that such a tactic wouldn't really accomplish anything. The purpose of this battle was to show Ryan how to make use of his Pokémon's abilities and what moves that they have. In order to do that, she needed to use a move that made use of Marill's unique trails while making sure that it did the proper damage to Spinarak. Luckily for her, Marill did have such a move in its disposal.

"Marill, use Bounce!"

Using its tail like a springboard, Marill jumped high into the air, being able to avoid Spinarak's attack. It then began to position itself into a giant ball and began making its way towards its target like a meteor coming towards the earth. Upon seeing that, Spinarak attempted to stop Marill by shooting a barrage of tiny purple needles from the small horn that was on the tip of its head. The needed managed to hit its target, but Marill's was able to endure the assault and keep going. This allowed it to connect with its target and cause Spinarak to be sent flying high into the air.

"Perfect!" Rachel said, happy that her plan worked. "Now let's finish things up. Marill, use Aqua Tail!"

Marill positioned itself back up once it recovered from falling from the sky. It then looked up as saw Spinarak beginning to make its way towards it as the Bug-Type Pokémon started falling towards the ground. It was at that moment that Marill extended its zigzag-like tail and began spinning it around in a propeller. As Marill continued to spin its tail faster and faster, a stream of water soon appeared and started spiraling around it. Soon, once it determined that enough water was around its tail, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon took aim and slammed Spinarak like a baseball bat. The sheer force the blow knocked the String Spit Pokémon out, rendering it unable to battle.

Upon seeing Spinarak lying on the ground, Rachel thought about something really quick before clinching the empty Pokeball that she held in her hand. Once she took aim and was able to determine that she would hit her target, Rachel threw her Pokeball and watched as it struck Spinarak. When that happened, the ball opened up and converted the Bug-Type into red-colored light energy before being sucked back into the ball. Once that happened, the device closed up and started wiggling around when it hit the ground. However, this action didn't last very long as the Pokeball stopped wiggling and released a shiny barrage of stars from it as that disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Rachel would then walk over and pick up the Pokeball that now contains her newly acquired Spinarak.

"There," She said as she looked up towards Ryan. "Did you pay attention to what I did?"

"Yeah," Ryan confirmed as he nodded his head up and down. "You were able to use the best of your Marill's moves and apply them to your battle."

"That's right," Rachel said with a small smile. She then went on to shrink Spinarak's Pokeball before walking over towards Marill and petting its round head. "However, it was more than just that. I also made great use of Marill's own unique traits as well. By using its sensitive hearing, I was able to find Spinarak. Also, by using Marill's spring-like tail to its full advantage, I was able to deal damage to Spinarak while dodging its attack at the same time. It's these little things that will help you become a better Pokémon Trainer as every Pokémon as something about them that makes them special. It's not all about what moves they have or how interesting they look. It's like the old saying; never judge a book by its over."

Once again, Ryan nodded his head in approval as everything that Rachel just said was right on the money. He needs to be more carefully and not do things recklessly. It was because of those things that not only caused him to lose his battle against Shark, but also nearly caused him to become seriously injured by the wild Nidoran. Now, knowing what he had to do, the young Trainer from Pallet Town was even more determined to catch a new Pokémon as he wanted to apply what he just learned. However it wasn't to be as Rachel noticed that the sun was behind the trees, indicating that it was getting late.

"C'mon," She said. "It's time for dinner."

* * *

Later on, as the sun fully set behind the trees and day slowly became night, Ryan and Rachel were busy sitting by a handmade campfire that they created. With them were their Pokémon, who joined their respective Trainers as all of them ate dinner. The food they had was somewhat simple as Ryan and Rachel were eating a stew that the latter had made and the Pokémon were eating Pokémon Food that their Trainers had for them. It was good and filling, but it couldn't replace the home cook meals that their used to having back at their homes. This was especially true for Ryan, who had hardly eaten anything that wasn't cooked by his mother.

While they were eating, Ryan looked around the area that made up their self-made campsite and saw that a large cage made up of a strong web was around them. He knew that the web came from Spinarak as he saw Rachel order the String Spit Pokémon to make a cage for them. He didn't know why she would give such a command as it made look like she wanted all of them to be trapped. However, upon asking what the purpose of the cage was, Ryan soon realized the intent of Rachel's actions.

"Why?" Rachel asked upon hearing Ryan's question. "I did it to protect us. Do you remember what your Pokedex said? It told you that Spinarak's web acts as a second nervous system and that it can determine what kind of prey it caught just by the tiniest vibrations. I figured I can use such a skill to our advantage and create a barrier made out of this web. With it, while we're sleeping, Spinarak can look out for us and determine if someone or something is trying to attack us. By acting like an early warning system, my new Pokémon can help us counter enemy attacks, or, at the very least, escape from them."

Ryan nodded his head upon hearing Rachel's explanation as it made a lot of sense. Spinarak's ability to sense who's touching its web could be really useful, especially while inside the Viridian Forest. Also, along with her Spinarak, the fact that Rachel had her Marill made things even better for all them. By using its highly sensitive ears to the fullest, Marill can sense who's approaching them. It was a double layer security system and Ryan couldn't see any flaws to it. This made the young man feel extremely secure, but it also made him realize that Rachel knows more about Pokémon than he initially thought.

"Amazing," He said. "That's just amazing Rachel. How did you get to be so good? I mean, not only did you make full use out of your newly captured Spinarak, but the food that you made for us is good too. How did you get to be so amazing with all of this?"

"Experience," Rachel answered as she took a sip of her stew. "I've been doing this ever since I was a child. It doesn't take a genius to know that you become better at something that longer you work at it."

"I see," Ryan said. "That makes sense. I mean, you are a Pokémon Breeder and that means you have to be around and take care of a lot of Pokémon. It only makes sense that you know so much."

Rachel looked up at the stars that covered the night sky as she thought about what Ryan just said to her. It was true that sense she was a Pokémon Breeder it would only make sense that she would know a lot about Pokémon and to make full use out the ones that were under her ownership. However she knew, perhaps better than anyone else, that it was much more to it than that. Despite all the things that she knows, Rachel knew that there were plenty of other things that she doesn't know. That was one of the reasons why she choose the path of a Breeder instead of a Trainer, so that she could learn more. By doing that, she could discover even better ways about how to take care and handle the amazing creatures that inhabit their world.

"I guess so," She said as she continued looking upward. "But I want to know more. The number of Pokémon that live in our world probably exceed the number of stars that are in the sky. There's no telling what kind of ways you can take care of them and make sure their living happy and healthy lives. That's why it's my dream to one day become the world's greatest Pokémon Breeder, so that I can one day discover all of those ways."

After Rachel explained her dream to Ryan, the young woman proceeded to gently rub the head of her Eevee as she continued to look up at the stars. Like them, she knew that her dream was far off and there was a chance that it couldn't be accomplished. However it was that far off challenge that made her want to pursue this dream in the first place. Even if she failed, the fact that she attempted to reach her goal was an accomplishment all on its own. Also, Rachel could pass on what she learned to someone else, allowing them to take up the goal in her place. The whole purpose of it all was to take care of every single Pokémon that lived in the world and as long as that goal was reached, then it didn't matter if she was the one who accomplished it. However, that didn't mean to say that Rachel didn't want to reach it. In fact, she hoped more than anything that she could. She just knew that some dreams are sometimes beyond ones reach.

As she continued to look up for a few more minutes, Rachel soon discovered that she just revealed her dream to someone that she hardly even knows. She then looked towards Ryan who was busy looking towards her. Just seeing him look at her caused Rachel to blush out of embarrassment as she never told anyone her dream before, not even her mother and older sister knew about and they know her better than anyone else. Rachel didn't know what to make of this as there was no guarantee that Ryan would approve or disapprove of such a goal. She was about to tell him that everything that she just said was a lie, but Ryan smiled at her before she got the chance to do so.

"That's an awesome dream to have Rachel," He said to her. "I would like to know more about how to take care of Pokémon too. However, since I want to specialize in battling, I don't think I'm cut out for the job. I think someone like you is more suited to have such a goal Rachel, as you care more about the health and safety of Pokémon than actually having them battle."

Ryan continued to smile as Rachel was quickly becoming more and more surprised with this young man that she's traveling with. Even though his battling skills aren't up to par with any of the other Trainers that she happened to meet, it was clear that he was most compassionate of them all. Also, despite the fact that he was new to battling and taking care of Pokémon, Ryan was still very determined to become a Pokémon Master. This caused Rachel to wonder about something that's been on her mind for a bit.

"Um…thanks," She said out of gratitude. "So, if it's okay, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Ryan replied. "You can ask me anything you want."

"Why do you want to become a Pokémon Master?" She asked him. "I mean, know pursues such a dream without a reason. I would like to know what drives you to become a Master."

Ryan looked at Rachel with a silent expression on his face as he thought about what she asked him and how to go about answering it. Eventually, the young man soon found himself looking at the sky for a moment as he started remembering something from his past. He then closed his eyes for about a second before reopening them and looking back at his new friend.

"It's mostly because of my father," He explained. "I want to become a Pokémon Master because I promised my father that I would.

"Your father…?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah…," Ryan confirmed. "You see, back when I was little, my dad used to be a Pokémon Trainer and he would travel around the world a lot. However, even though he was gone for long periods of time, he would always come home every once and awhile and show me and my older sister some of the new Pokémon that he happened to catch. We would even have practice battle with them and even though I would always lose, it was still very fun. The reason why I want to become a Pokémon Master is because I want to be cool a Pokémon Trainer just like my dad was."

"Was?" Rachel said, confused by the way Ryan structured his wording. "Do you mean?"

Ryan nodded his head softly as he gently began to pet both his Charmander and Pidgey, who were sleeping right beside him. He then went on to grab something from underneath his shirt and showed it off to Rachel. It was a necklace that had a silver star on it.

"Back when I was 8, my father died while out on one of his journeys," Ryan told her. "Before he left, he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I told him that I wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer. However, I didn't want to become just any Pokémon Trainer. I wanted to become the greatest Trainer in the world, a Pokémon Master. When I told him that, my dad smiled at me and gave this necklace. He then went on to say that it belonged to his father and that it was very important as it was the last thing he as of him. My dad then told me that he wanted me to return it to him…once I achieved my dream and became a Pokémon Master."

As Ryan paused to reflect on what he just said, tears started to form around Rachel's eyes. Usually, most people who lose a loved can't go on with their goals as the pain is simply too much to bear. However, Ryan was different. Despite his loss, he was still able to move forward and keep pursuing his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master. She then wondered if she had the strength to keep going if the same thing happened to her. However, before she could ponder about it further, Ryan continued on with his explanation.

"I want to become a Pokémon Master more than anything in the world," He said. "However, I don't just want to become one because I want too. I want to become a Pokémon Master because my father believed that I could. By doing that, I feel that I can fully honor his memory…or at least that's what I think can happen if I accomplish my goal."

After telling Rachel what drives him to be a Pokémon Master, Ryan placed his necklace back around his neck and smiled at his new friend. As she looked at him, Rachel saw that despite the smile that was on his face, there was a hint of sadness in Ryan's eyes as well. Despite pushing to achieve his dream for his late father, it was clear to her that Ryan missed his dad very much. From her point of view, he probably felt that becoming a Pokémon Master was only worth achieving if his father was there to see him do it. However, since he wasn't here, the only thing that he could do was keep going. If he stopped now then it would be like spitting on his father's memory and Rachel knew that was something that Ryan didn't want to do. This caused her to feel impressed with his resolve and she soon remembered the promise that she made to him.

"Alright," She said. "Well then…you better get some sleep. After all, I did promise that I was going to teach you how to be a better Pokémon Trainer. If you want to become the best then you need to train and your training begins first thing tomorrow morning."

Ryan's eyes widen upon hearing Rachel say that she would teach him how to become a better Pokémon Trainer and he soon remembered the promise that she made to him earlier in the day. After recalling that, the young man smiled and nodded his head at her. He was grateful that Rachel was taking time out of her journey in order to help him and he swore that he would make the most out of the time they have together. He then nodded his head in approval before looking down at his father's star necklace.

"I'm going to do it dad," He thought quietly to himself. "I'm going to become a Pokémon Master. Just you watch."

* * *

Once he reaffirmed his resolve to become a Pokémon Master, Ryan proceeded to help Rachel clean up the mess they made before going heading to sleep. After a few hours of sleeping, Rachel soon woke up and saw that it was the crack of dawn. The sun was beginning to rise and she could hear that the cries of some of the Pokémon the roamed in the forest was becoming much louder. It was clear to her that this was not only the perfect time to wake up, but the perfect time to begin some early morning training. So, after freshening up her and her Pokémon, the young woman proceeded to make her way over to Ryan, who was still sleeping like a rock.

After trying several methods in order to wake him, which consisted of shaking him and poking him, Rachel decided that such tactics aren't going to get anywhere. Because of that, she decided to think outside the box and proceeded to call her Marill over to her. When the Aqua Mouse Pokémon came over to her side, Rachel spoke something softly into its ear and Marill went on to nod its head in approval. Then, after making some distance between itself and Ryan, Marill fired a powerful Water Gun at him, soaking Ryan to the bone and causing him to wake up.

"Time to wake up sleepyhead," Rachel said as she called Marill back to her side. "Let's begin the first stage of your training."

"Training…?" Ryan questioned as he tried to shake the cobwebs from out of his head. "What the hell are you talking about? It's time to sleep not train."

"Not in my training camp," Rachel informed him. "As long as you're with me, you wake up as soon as the sun comes up."

Ryan groaned in disapproval as he didn't like how his training with Rachel was starting out. It was just over 5:00 in the morning and it was still pretty dark outside. Usually he would still be asleep until around 9:00 in the morning, but that wasn't the case today. Because of his training, Ryan would now have to lose at least 4 hours of sleep everyday and that was something he thought he might not be able to do. However, after remembering the promise he made to his father and seeing how insistent Rachel was in training him, Ryan reluctantly decided to suck it up and went on to wake up both his Pidgey and Charmander. Once he did that, he then went on to change into a new set of clothes before following Rachel into another section of the forest.

As soon as the two of them, along with their Pokémon, made it into that section of the Viridian Forest, Rachel examined the area that she was in and determined that this was the perfect place to conduct the training. It was far enough so that there was enough space to work, while it was close enough to the campsite so that they can get to it if they needed to. Because of that, Rachel felt that this was the perfect spot and soon went on to explain what Ryan would be doing today with his Pokémon.

"Alright," She started off. "From now until it's time for breakfast, we're going to be working on your Pokémon's speed and power."

"Their speed and…power?" Ryan questioned.

"That's right," Rachel confirmed. "During your battle against Reginald Kastle, I noticed something. I saw that your Pidgey wasn't really fast and the power of your Charmander's Ember attack wasn't really strong. That seemed off to me as Pidgey are known to be pretty fast Pokémon and the Special Attack of Charmanders are known to be fairly powerful. Now, I'm not sure if it's because if your Pokémon are at a low level or if it's because you're not utilizing their full potential, but that's going to change."

"How so?" Ryan asked. "How can improve my Pidgey's speed and the power of my Charmander's attacks?"

Rachel looked over towards both her Marill and Eevee once Ryan asked her that question and the two Pokémon proceeded to make their way over towards Pidgey and Charmander respectively. Once they were there, the two of them proceeded to launch a few of their signature attacks. Marill fired a Water Gun just above Pidgey's head while Eevee launched a Shadow Ball just above Charmander's. As soon as Rachel saw that, the young man turned her attention back towards Ryan.

"You're going to have your Pidgey try and avoid Marill's Water Gun attacks," She told him. "By repeatedly doing that, Pidgey's reaction time will slowly begin to increase thus allowing it to become faster. Then, while that's happening, your Charmander is going to try and destroy a couple of Eevee's Shadow Balls with its Ember attack. This training will allow your Charmander to improve on its signature attack, making it more powerful and more useful in battle."

"…I see," Ryan said as he nodded his head. "By working on the best attributes of my Pokémon, I can improve on what they best excel at, making them stronger in the process."

"That's right," Rachel confirmed. "As a Pokémon Trainer, it's your job to work with what's best for your Pokémon. If they're fast then improve on their speed. If they're strong then improve on their overall power. By doing that you can vastly increase your Pokémon's overall skill and make them more powerful."

Ryan nodded his head as he liked what Rachel was saying to him. He then decided to stop wasting time and begin his training as he only has until breakfast. He decided to work with Pidgey first and proceeded to coach his Flying-Type Pokémon as it began dodging Marill's Water Gun attacks. This was very hard for the Tiny Bird Pokémon to go through as it had a difficult time avoiding Marill's attack over and over again. However, as time went by no results were being made, Ryan decided to step in and help his Pokémon by telling it when to dodge. By keeping an eye on Marill's Water Gun, Ryan could direct Pidgey on where to go and how to best avoid the attacks. Eventually, this paid off as Pidgey was becoming more and more used to reacting to Marill's moves, allowing it to avoid its attacks.

Once he saw that, Ryan decided that Pidgey should have a break and went on to with his Charmander. As the training started and Eevee started shooting several Shadow Balls into the air, Ryan commanded his Starter Pokémon to strike them down with its Ember attack. Charmander obeyed its Trainer's order and started firing its attack at Eevee's. However, as time went by, Ryan noticed that the strength of Charmander's move wasn't good enough to destroy Eevee's Shadow Ball on one try. As a result, he tried telling Charmander to build all the power that it could muster before firing another Ember. The Lizard Pokémon followed Ryan's advice and proceeded to do what it was told. When it fired another Ember, it was several times bigger than the ones that it usually release and it was strong enough to destroy one of the Shadow Balls. The sight of that made Ryan really happy as it showed him that Charmander was even more powerful than he initially thought. He then decided to keep working so that his Pokémon could release that power at any time.

While Ryan worked with his Pokémon, Rachel looked at all of them from afar and was very pleased by what she saw. Even though she said that the purpose of this training was to improve on the speed and power of Charmander and Pidgey, Rachel also knew that this training was beneficial for Ryan as well. It would show him that he needed to be more involved with his Pokémon and give them direction and encouragement. By doing that, not only would his Pokémon become more motivated to work with him, but he would learn new ways to handle them as well. The roles of Trainer and Pokémon are shared equally and both sides need to work hard in order for any progress to be made. Rachel knew that better than anyone and she saw that Ryan beginning to realize that as well.

Eventually, after observing the training for a couple of hours, Rachel decided to take a break and prepare breakfast for everyone. She started off by restarting the campfire that was set up last night and placed a bucket of water on top of it so that it could boil. Once she saw the bubbles begin to form, she then placed some carrots, peas, along with a few other vegetables before placing them meat in the bucket to join them. She then went on to stir all of her ingredients with a ladle for a few minutes before walking over to get something from her backpack.

As Rachel left the food behind, something from the forest smelled the delicious meal that she was making and quickly made their way over to it. Once it could determine that no one was watching, it then began to slurp up the food as fast as it possibly could. No one seemed to notice this at first as they were all busy doing their own thing. However, after picking up some strange noises with its highly sensitive ears, Marill looked back over to the campsite and saw the thing that was eating their food. The Aqua Mouse Pokémon then alerted Eevee at what was going on and the two of them stopped what they were doing in order to stop it.

"Hey…," Ryan said in a confused tone of voice. "Why are you stopping?"

The young man turned himself around in order to see where both Eevee and Marill were going. When he did, he saw the thing that was eating the breakfast that Rachel made. It was a small mouse with yellow fur, long and pointed ears with black tips, two brown stripes on its back, two red circles that were on its cheeks, and a tail that looked like a lightning bolt. Upon seeing getting a good at it, Ryan's eyes lit up as knew what the creature was.

"Wow!" He said in an excited tone of voice. "It's a Pikachu!"

When Ryan said the name of the Pokémon, Rachel stopped what she was doing and began to make her way back towards him. She then watched as Pikachu continued eating the food she prepared as Ryan pulled his Pokedex from his pocket. The two of them then listened closely as the device began to explain what kind of Pokémon Pikachu was.

"_Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pichu," _The device explained. _"Pikachu stores electricity in the electric sacs on its cheeks. When it releases pent-up energy in a burst, the electric power is equal to a lightning bolt."_

The Pokedex finished its explanation, the smile that was on Ryan's face slowly became bigger and bigger as he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Pokémon that was in front of him was a Pikachu, one of the Pokémon that he used to play with when his father came home from one of his journeys. He had always wanted to find one in the wild so that he could catch and he now had the perfect opportunity to do so. However, before he could grab one of his empty Pokeballs, Ryan saw that Rachel was on the verge of ordering both of her Pokémon to get rid of the Mouse Pokémon that was still eating their food. He tried stopping her, but he was too late.

"Eevee and Marill," Rachel called too in a commanding tone of voice. "Get rid of that Pikachu!"

Both Eevee and Marill nodded their heads in agreement and prepared themselves to battle Pikachu in order to get it to stop eating. When the Mouse Pokémon saw this, it simply sighed quietly to itself turning to face them. It then started to release sparks of electricity that was coming from its red cheeks. Rachel noticed what was going on and believed that Pikachu was getting ready to release its Thundershock attack. Being an Electric-Type move, the Pokémon Breeder knew that it could deal a good amount of damage to Marill, since it was weak against electric attacks. However, she also knew that the move Thundershock wasn't very powerful and that she trained her Marill in order to endure moves that it was weak against. Also, even if that wasn't enough, she still had her trusted Eevee to back it up. Because of all of those factors, Rachel believed that she would have no trouble in making Pikachu go away. However…she would quickly realize that it wouldn't be that simple.

As Pikachu continued to build up more electrical power, the sparks that were flying from its cheeks were becoming stronger and stronger. Normally, the power of a Thundershock attack isn't very strong and the way the attack looks resembles a small lightning bolt. However, that wasn't the case with Pikachu. When it released its attack, the power that it produced look resembled that of a giant lightning bolt. Its power was so great that it ended up knocking out Rachel's Marill and paralyzing her Eevee. When she saw this, the young woman was shocked beyond words as she knew what the move was and was surprised that Pikachu could use it.

"That…attack," She stuttered slightly. "It was a Thunderbolt."

Thunderbolt is a move that many people believe to be an upgraded version of Thundershock. More electrical power is released and the chances that the attack can paralyze its target increases greatly. However, in order to master such a move, an Electric Pokémon must be trained fairly well. So, the fact this wild Pikachu could use the move surprised Rachel greatly as the only Pikachus that she's seen that could use Thunderbolt were the ownership of Pokémon Trainers. She then wondered what she should do as her most experienced Pokémon were unable to battle and the only other one, her Spinarak, didn't have much battling experience. She considered running away, but Ryan stepped up before she could ponder that idea further. When she looked at him, Rachel noticed the look that was on Ryan's face and saw that he was extremely motivated.

"Hey…?" She said to him. "Don't tell me you want too…"

"Yup," Ryan said, interrupting her question. "I'm going to capture that Pikachu. I've always wanted one and now I have my chance. Also, it looks very strong and I'm going to need a Pokémon like that if I want to enter the Pokémon League."

"But that isn't some ordinary Pikachu!" Rachel pointed out to him. "At its level, it's way too powerful for you to capture. Also, you should try and find another that's closer to the level of your Pokémon instead of doing something as reckless as this."

Ryan listened to what Rachel had to say and he knew that she was making a lot of good points. At his level of strength, the possibility that he could capture this Pikachu was pretty slim. However, just because the chances were slim didn't mean that he had no chance at all. If he wanted to become a Pokémon Master then he would need to do things that verge on the near impossible. Whether those things consisted of catching a Pokémon that was more powerful than his own or battling an opponent who was far more experienced than he was, Ryan still had to do it. If he didn't then he would never know if he could have accomplished it and that was something he despised greatly. It's like a saying that his father would use to tell him; you never know unless you try.

"You may be right," He said as he called both his Charmander and Pidgey over to him. "But I'm willing to take that chance. Besides, this will be a good opportunity to see if your training is paying off."

Rachel watched as Ryan had his Pidgey step forward first in his attempt to capture the wild Pikachu. She wondered if Ryan actually did have what it took to capture a Pokémon that strong especially since one of his own Pokémon, his Pidgey, was weak against Pikachu's Electric-Type moves. She then decided that she would watch this battle closely and see if Ryan actually learned something from his training today. However, in the good chance that he wasn't able to capture Pikachu, Rachel had her Spinarak prepare itself for battle. She then went on to return both Eevee and Marill back into their Pokeballs before watching Ryan make the first move in his battle.

"Pidgey," He called. "Start off with your Gust attack!"

Pidgey complied with its Trainer's order and started flapping its wings at an extremely fast pace. This caused a small windstorm to appear and cover the entire area for a few minutes. However, even while being consumed by the wind, Pikachu wasn't affected by it at all. It simply looked at Pidgey as it began to build up power in order to release another Thunderbolt attack. As it fired the move, Ryan noticed how quickly it was heading towards Pidgey and knew that he needed to act right away.

"Dodge it Pidgey!" He yelled. "Dodge it right now!"

The Tiny Bird Pokémon nodded its head in agreement and managed to successfully avoid Pikachu's attack at the last moment. When it did that, both Pikachu and Rachel were shocked by what they just saw as they didn't think that Pidgey was fast enough to avoid the attack. Soon though, the former snapped out of its shocked state of mind and began firing more Thunderbolts at Pidgey. However, just like with the first one, Ryan directed his Pokémon on when to dodge the attacks and Pidgey managed to do so every time. Soon, after seeing that multiple barrage of Thunderbolts was beginning to take their toll on the Mouse Pokémon, Ryan saw that it was the perfect opportunity to strike back.

"Alright Pidgey…it's our turn now. Use your Quick Attack!"

Pidgey agreed that the time was now to make its move and began making its way over to Pikachu at a near-blinding speed. It then began to tackle the Pokémon over and over again, making sure to pull away from it before it had the chance to strike back. When Ryan saw that he was beginning to make some progress, the young man smiled gleefully as he believed that he this battle all but wrapped up. He then continued have Pidgey continue its assault on Pikachu, hoping to wear down the electric mouse even further.

However as this display was going on, Rachel started notice that something was off. She saw that each time Pidgey struck Pikachu it would become a little bit slower than before. At first she didn't notice it as Pidgey's movements were too fast for her to follow completely. But, as time went on as she saw that Pikachu's counter attacks were becoming more and more accurate, she knew that something was up. Eventually, her suspicions were validated as Pidgey soon landed on the ground, struggling to move.

"Hey Pidgey…?" Ryan called out in a somewhat concerned tone of voice. "Why aren't you flying? You need to move before Pikachu has the chance to hit you."

Flying Pokémon understood what its Trainer wanted it to do, but it still wasn't able to move. For Pidgey, it felt like something was paralyzing its body. The sight of this worried Ryan greatly as he wasn't sure what was going on. None of Pikachu's electric attacks had connected with Pidgey, but it still looked like Pidgey was paralyzed. As his confusion reached its peak, Rachel walked over to him and explained what was going on.

"Static," She said.

"Static?" Ryan questioned. "What's that?"

"It's Pikachu's Ability," Rachel informed him. "Every Pokémon has an ability and Static is Pikachu's. With it, whenever another Pokémon makes physical contact with Pikachu, there's a chance that Pokémon could end up paralyze."

"But that's impossible!" Ryan pointed out. "Pidgey didn't make physical…"

Just as he was about to say that his Pidgey didn't make physical contact with Pikachu, Ryan quickly realized that it did. While avoiding Pikachu's repeated Thunderbolt attacks, Pidgey kept tackling it with its Quick Attack. It was that repeated barrage that caused the Mouse Pokémon's Ability to activate and leave Pidgey immobilize. Coming to that realization caused Ryan to repeatedly slap himself as it was his carelessness that caused Pidgey to be in the condition that it's in now.

As he kept doing that, Rachel noticed that Pikachu was beginning to build up power so that it could fire another Thunderbolt. She tried telling Ryan about this, but the young man was still too frustrated with himself to notice. Because of that, it wasn't until Pidgey was struck by the electrical attack that Ryan figured out what was going on. He then watched as his Flying-Type Pokémon landed by his feat, unconscious.

"No…Pidgey," He said in a disappointed tone of voice.

Ryan picked up Pidgey from off the ground and looked at it with a couple of tears in his eyes. He then remembered the last time he battled with it and how Pidgey was rendered unable to battle after going up against Shark's Spearow. The remembrance of his defeat against his rival and the loss he's experiencing now was almost too much for him to take and he was beginning to wonder if he could win. However, before he could lose hope completely, Ryan's Charmander gently pulled on his pants leg and informed him that it wanted to battle. Just seeing how determined it was made Ryan feel a little bit better and he decided that he couldn't give up yet. So, after congratulating Pidgey on a job well done and returning it to its Pokeball, Ryan told his Charmander to enter the battle and the Lizard Pokémon eagerly complied.

Once Charmander made its way over to the battlefield, both it and Pikachu stared each other down for a moment. Both of them were somewhat exhausted as Charmander was still tired from its training and Pikachu was still feeling the effects from its battle against Charmander. Through the eyes of an ordinary person, things seemed to be rather even on both sides. However Rachel, who's been watching the battle since its beginning, new that Pikachu still had the advantage. She also knew that if Ryan wanted to capture the Mouse Pokémon then he would need to do the same thing it did and take advantage of Charmander's own Special Ability.

"Charmander," Ryan called. "Use Ember on Pikachu!"

Charmander nodded its head and started firing a large barrage of fireballs at Pikachu. Thanks to its training, the fire that it produced was slightly more powerful than it was before. Pikachu noticed this and realized that it wouldn't have enough time to counter it with a Thunderbolt while in its current condition. However, it also knew that just using Electric-Type attack wasn't the only way to get around. As a result, Pikachu quickly dashed towards Charmander while making sure to avoid its attack. Once it was able to get way from all of the fireballs, the Mouse Pokémon then went on to tackle Charmander, sending it flying back towards its Trainer. When Ryan saw that, he knew right away what type of move Pikachu used.

"Quick Attack…" He said in a slight state of frustration. "That's just great. Now what am I going to do?"

With the revelation that Pikachu could use Quick Attack along with Thunderbolt, things were looking even worse for Ryan. When he had Charmander use its Scratch attack, the delay in time caused Charmander to be struck by Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack. Then, when he tried both Ember and Smokescreen, Pikachu would use its Quick Attack to avoid both moves and slam into Charmander before the attack could be of any use. Seeing another one of his Pokémon being pummeled only frustrated Ryan even more and soon found himself filled with doubt. As he was on the verge of giving up and returning Charmander back into its Pokeball, Rachel grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"That should be my question," She replied. "Why are you about to give up, especially when your window of opportunity is open?"

Hearing Rachel say that confused Ryan a little as he had no idea on what she was talking about. Rather than explain it to him, Rachel pointed her finger back towards the battle and showed Ryan something. She showed him that while Charmander was becoming more and more tired, an orange aura was beginning to cover its body. She also showed him that instead of dying down, Charmander's tail flame seemed a bit more powerful than normal.

"Like I told you before, every Pokémon has an ability," Rachel explained. "That also includes your Charmander whose Special Ability is Blaze. Whenever its endurance is really low, Blaze increases the power of Charmander's Fire-Type attacks. If you take advantage of the increase in power that Blaze provides for Charmander then you might have a chance to win."

Once Rachel finished telling him that the battle wasn't over, Ryan turned his head back towards Charmander and saw that the aura that was covering its body was becoming brighter and brighter. The Lizard Pokémon then looked over towards its Trainer and told him that it could still keep battling. Upon seeing that, as well as seeing the necklace that his father gave to him, Ryan swallowed his fear and decided to gamble everything on Charmander's resolve.

"Charmander," He said. "Use your Ember attack and this time…fire it at maximum power!"

Charmander nodded its head and started building all the fire power that it could muster. As it did that, the aura that was surrounding it soon lit up the entire area, frightening Pikachu in the process. The Mouse Pokémon tried countering the attack with another Thunderbolt but, after going through 2 battles and using up a lot of its energy, the electrical attack that it produced was far less than usual. This worked out well for both Ryan and Charmander as when the latter fired a giant fireball from its mouth, it completely overwhelmed Pikachu's attack. Once it did that, the attack continued on its way and struck Pikachu, sending it flying towards the ground. When Ryan saw this, his eyes lit up as he didn't expect Charmander's Ember to be that powerful. He then decided to follow things up so that Pikachu doesn't regain the momentum.

"Quick Charmander," He said to his Pokémon. "End this with your Scratch attack!"

The Lizard Pokémon agreed with Ryan's commanded and began making its way over to Pikachu as fast as it could. As it did that, Pikachu slowly got back up to its feet and saw that Charmander was making its way towards it. Realizing that it didn't have enough time to launch another Thunderbolt, Pikachu dashed over to Charmander with its Quick Attack, trying to strike its opponent before it could. When both Pokémon reached each other, they managed to strike each other at the same time. For a moment it seemed like nothing happened as the both of them were still standing. Then, just as Charmander fell to one knee, Pikachu fell to the ground entirely. The damage that it sustained during the battles against both Charmander and Pidgey finally caught up to it and it didn't have the strength to continue.

When Ryan noticed this, he was slightly shocked by it all as a part of him didn't know what to do next. However, after Rachel snapped her fingers in front of him and alerted that Pikachu was down, the young man immediately snapped out of it and pulled out an empty Pokeball from his belt buckle. As soon as he enlarged it by pressing the button in the middle of the ball, Ryan threw it towards Pikachu and watched as it struck the fallen Pokémon. He then looked on as the Pokeball opened up and converted Pikachu into a mass of red light energy. When that energy was sucked back inside the Pokeball, everyone looked on as it landed on the ground and started wiggling back and forth. The tension was thick as it felt like Pikachu could pop out at any time and continue the battle. But, that wasn't the case, as the Pokeball stopped moving a released a stream of glitter like stars. Once he saw that, Ryan picked up the ball and looked at it for a moment before turning toward Rachel.

"Good job," She said with small smile on her face. "I admit that I had my doubts, but you actually pulled it off. You should be very proud of yourself."

Ryan kept to himself when he heard Rachel's compliment as he was still coming to terms with what just happened. After giving it a few seconds and seeing that he was still holding the Pokeball that contained his newly acquired Pokémon, a huge smile started to appear on his face. He then started jumping around gleefully as he just caught one of the Pokémon that he always wanted to have. The excitement that he was feeling was so great that it alerted some of the other Pokémon that were still sleeping in the forest. It wasn't until he saw his Charmander fall to both knees that Ryan calmed down and began to make its way towards it. Once he was there, the young smiled at his Starter and began petting its head.

"Great job Charmander," He said. "You really showed your stuff today and I'm very proud of you. Because of your efforts, we have a brand new friend."

Charmander smiled upon hearing Ryan's compliment as it was glad that it could make its Trainer happy. It then decided to take a nap so that it could rest and Ryan proceeded to return the Lizard Pokémon back to its Pokeball. Once Ryan did that, he turned his attention back to the Pokeball that contained his Pikachu and soon decided to let it out. When he saw the light energy that emerged from the ball transform itself into the electric mouse Pokémon, the young Trainer saw Pikachu breathing very heavily. In order to restore its fatigue, he grabbed a special medicine called a Potion from his pocket and began spraying it onto Pikachu. The Potion's healing properties slowly began to restore Pikachu's health, making it feel better in the process. Once he saw that, Ryan presented his hand out to the Mouse Pokémon.

"Pikachu," He said with a smile on his face. "That was a great battle that we just had and I can tell that you're just going to get stronger and stronger as time goes by. So…how about joining up with me and my friends? That way, we can all get stronger together."

As he continued to wait for its response, Ryan watched as Pikachu turned itself around and placed its tail upon its hand. At first, it seemed like Pikachu had accepted Ryan's offer and that the two of them were going to be a team. However, that changed as Pikachu proceeded to shock its new Trainer with its Thunderbolt attack, knocking him out and causing him to fall face first onto the ground. While he lied there, the Mouse Pokémon looked at him for a moment before turning its head in a disappointing fashion.

"This…is either going to be very interesting," Rachel said as she watched the two of them. "Or very stupid…"

Rachel didn't know what to think about the new team of Ryan and Pikachu as it seemed like the two of them were incompatible with one another. However, after remembering Ryan's promise to become a Pokémon Master and how he faired today in this battle against Pikachu, she knew that such a feat wasn't impossible at that the two could work together. But, as of right now, that wasn't the case. So, while Ryan continued lying on the ground, Rachel brought her Spinarak with her and the two of them continue fixing their breakfast.

Meanwhile, as Rachel did that, someone watching from the shadows was busy looking at Ryan. It was a young man who was wearing a costume that resembled ancient samurai armor. He was also wielding a sword that matched well with the armor, only instead of being made of metal, the sword made out of rubber. He then began shaking the tip of his plastic weapon as he continued to look at Ryan.

"I see," He said. "So he managed to catch Pikachu. Now…let's see if he can raise it."

* * *

_**Chapter Preview**_

_2 weeks have passed since Ryan captured his Pikachu and no progress has been made with the two of them. Not only has he been unable to gain Pikachu's trust, but he can't even get the Mouse Pokémon to obey his commands. Can Ryan find a way to earn the respect of his newest friend? He's going to have too, especially when he not only has to battle a new opponent, but confront one of his greatest fears as well. _

_Next Time, Chapter 6: Challenge of the Samurai – Part 1_


End file.
